It was just a prank
by Malverstation
Summary: Neji and Gaara come up with a big prank, a prank that ends up with a naked and hungover Sasuke and Naruto in the same bed with no memories of the night before. Now they are dating? Since when? SasuNaru AU-High School
1. Chapter 1: The Prank

Pairings: Sasu/Naru, Kiba/Hina, Neji/Ten, Kaka/Iruka and whoever is allowed in my story xD

Summary: The high school basketball team had won state finals with Sasuke as the all star player in the state. That night, while there was a party at the Hyuuga mansion, Neji was able to pass out alcohol while his parents were out on a business trip and in the end, Neji, Kiba, Sakura, Ino and the unwilling Shikamaru and Hinata were able to play the biggest prank of all time which involved a passed out Naruto and Sasuke. The morning after the party, Naruto and Sasuke woke up in Kiba's bed naked, thus the start of the pranks began.

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters involved

Chapter 1: The prank

Friday nights for high schoolers were always party nights after football, basketball, soccer, volleyball games and to add to the event, if it were someone's birthday, it gave a bigger reason to party. Well that's the way it was at Konoha High school but tonight, the varsity basketball team had won state finals and were celebrating with the teammates. The team consisted of Sasuke Uchiha as the all star player, Neji Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, Choji Akimichi, Rock lee, Gaara and Kankuro Shukaku, and last but not least, Naruto Uzumaki with their coach Asuma. Everyone but the coach was at the party tonight along with plenty of other peers and as always, the girls were cluttered around the all star.

"Dang, why does he get all the girls?" Naruto whined, watching the crowd and seeing girls try to sit on his lap and help him drink. "I bet they are just waiting for him to get drunk to take advantage of him."

"Think of it this way!" Kiba announced, wrapping his arm around Naruto with a beer in hand. "He may get all the pretty girls but he also gets the annoying and slutty ones too."

Kiba had a point, he may have gotten all the girls but that also included the pretty, the not so pretty ones, the annoying, the sadistic, and every other type of girl you could think of except girls, except of course the ones that were already taken, like Hinata and Tenten. The rest of the female population turned every guy down on dates due to the fact that Sasuke was single and even if there was a .5 percent chance at getting a date with him, they would wait a million years until he choose one of them. Thing was, Sasuke only ever went to the school dances with a date because he was crowned "king" at the proms for freshman, sophomore, junior and probably for senior year as well and needed to be around the "queen".

Each year the girl was different but as soon as he could leave, he did. He never danced or kissed or even was seen holding hands or touching….they were always touching him.

The music was shaking the house as student bodies danced, pressed up to one another and shared conversations. There was a separation of groups in different areas and the groups only stayed in their "safe zones" for fear of starting a fight.

Naruto was doing his own thing, jumping, yelling, singing, being the hyper ADD child making people laugh and giggle. Yeah, no party was complete without Naruto Uzumaki.

Kiba, not far from Naruto was dancing with his girlfriend, Hinata, who turned into a completely different person under the influence.

Gaara stood in the corner of the room, arms folded and just watched. He wasn't going to make a fool of himself. In the opposite corner was Neji who too had his arms crossed talking to Sasuke.

"Your cousin is dancing with the dog boy again." Sasuke said eating the rest of his potato chips.

"And if I see him grind his ass on her again, I am going to go over there and throw him out and lecture her about flea infested mongrels. I can't believe she actually likes him. No taste at all."

"I hate to say it but I heard a rumor that he might just be your cousin-in-law within the next year."

"Where the fuck did you hear that from?" Never in a million years would Neji accept the boy as a Hyuuga. He could tolerate the boy but to have him in the family, Neji would rather spend a month on the streets before letting this happen. They were a rich, high class family and Hinata was supposed to find a man of the same status, not one lower.

"Like I said…it was just a rumor." Sasuke shrugged, finishing his chips and placing the plate on a table nearby.

"Well if this rumor comes true, someone is going to have hell to pay!"

Silence formed between the boys as they watched the people in the room. It was getting a little warm and since it was February, Sasuke decided to stand by the back sliding door to let the cold winter breeze cool him down. Problem was, he had to walk across the floor and through the crowds of sweaty people…he was not interested in getting any sweatier than he already was and after the game that night, he was exhausted and couldn't handle any girls clinging to him. He sighed and began making his way through the mass of bodies, when he was suddenly knocked over by a bubbling blonde.

"Watch yourself, dobe. You are gonna end up hurting yourself and those around you with your dancing."

Just as Naruto turned to look at the raven, he too was pushed and a gasp escaped his mouth, the raven instinctively catching him before he hit the ground. Their faces only inches from each other, a blush spread across both boys cheeks as they felt the other's hot breath on their face.

The music seemed to stop and everything else froze. And if the world had stopped spinning in that moment, Naruto and Sasuke froze, lost in the gaze of the other.

Kiba saw and suddenly went into best friend mode, grabbing Naruto and peeled him from Sasuke's arm. "Fuck, Naruto; are you ok?"

Still stunned and in his own world, he missed the fact that Sasuke had turned and walked away from him and blended into the crowd.

Shaking himself, he smiled, "Yeah….I'm fine, thanks."

From the corner, a sly Hyuuga and a curious Shukaku were grinning from what they had just witnessed. Both had eyes of a hawk and as they turned and shared a knowing look their grins spread . . . they had an idea.

The party was winding down as people began to pile out of the house, making their way to their own homes. Everyone seemed to have left except for, Kiba who was looking for Naruto because he was staying the night with him and Neji who was looking for Sasuke.

Of course not too far behind the Hyuuga were Ino and Sakura, who too were looking for Sasuke for their own reasons.

"Where is he?" Sakura wondered, looking around the living room.

"Found him!" Ino yelled as Neji and Sakura made their way over to the loveseat that was turned around and pushed up against the wall. Of course no one could find him with his body hiding between the couch and the wall. It was surmised that he had probably set the loveseat like that so he wouldn't be seen once he passed out.

"Frick! Where is that fox!" Kiba yelled, scratching his head as he saw the crowd near the couch. "Hey, Hyuuga, have you seen Naruto?" Neji just smirked.

"He's passed out under the kitchen table." Neji replied.

"The fuck; The kitchen table, really, that's the oddest fucking place to pass out!"

"Doesn't surprise me, he sleeps on the floor at home anyways right?" Neji commented.

"You know his situation, I wouldn't talk until you been in his place and know what he's been through."

Kiba had found his blonde haired friend right where Neji said he would be.

Picking him up and carrying him out to find Hinata and Gaara, he ran into the Hyuuga boy near the foyer with a passed out Sasuke in his arms.

Not to Kiba's surprise, Ino and Sakura were both offering to take Sasuke back to their house but Neji being the friend he was, refused to hand him over to the girls, knowing their intentions were not of the innocent nature.

After a while of standing in silence, Hinata and Gaara had showed up.

"Oh thank goodness you found him. I was worried." Hinata whispered, looking at the drooling blonde. Gaara smirked as he examined Naruto and the passed out Uchiha. His gaze ended at Neji and Neji smirked as well.

"Whoa whoa; I don't know what those looks are for, but you two are scaring me." The Inuzuka said in a slightly scared and yet amused way.

Gaara's green eyes Kiba before turning back to Neji. "We had a small idea." was all he said.

"Wait….an idea? What?"

"More like…a prank." Neji added.

Kiba perked up. "I'm listening." Anything to get Naruto back from the last prank he pulled, that left his white shirts pink right before his date with Hinata a month ago, he was up for.

"Then you're taking Sasuke." Neji added, handing the charcoal haired boy over. Sakura and Ino's eyes widened as they watch the scene of their precious Sasuke being handed over to some red-headed creep with a tattoo on his forehead. Honestly, why was Neji just handing him over to these lower people?

"Wait. What's the prank?" Sakura asked. "Sasuke didn't do anything. If anything Naruto should be the one to have the prank pulled on him; leave Sasuke out of this."

The boys did was gave the little pink haired girl an apathetic look. She was a fan girl after all, she didn't see the asshole side of the boy Neji had to put up with and he was sure ready to get back at him for being so sadistic. This would do him good.

"Got it; I will explain it to Kiba on the way to his house. I am sure he will be okay with it as soon as he hears."

And with that, Gaara turned and left the foyer and out the front door, leaving a confused Kiba, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura behind.

"Wait! We want to know!" they all called in unison, following after him. And before Neji knew it, everyone was gone. Now was the time to call his housekeepers to attend to the mess while he went and took a hot shower.

"So what's this plan?" Kiba asked, moving his hand so the drool didn't land on his hand again. He was tired of the blonde drooling; he had enough drool to put up with from his dog Akamaru back at home.

"You saw when Naruto and Sasuke fell on each other tonight right?"

"Yeah, I saw it. So?"

"What's the plan?" Sakura asked, trying to keep up the same pace with the boys. Luckily, they all lived close enough to walk home and Ino was staying the night at Sakura's whose house was closer. Kiba really didn't want to have to walk the girl's home after dropping Naruto in his room.

"We are going to make Sasuke and Naruto think they did something they really didn't do at the party."

"Oh! Like, ended up puking on some random girl?"

"Not quite"

"Oh?" Ino inquired.

"We are going to strip and drop both boys in your bed Kiba. When they wake up tomorrow, you are to come up with a crazy story and make them believe they had a 'fun time' together."

All three of the girl's eyes widened as Hinata blushed and Kiba's laugh barked across the subdivision.

"Classic! And this was Neji's idea too?"

"Sort of, We collaborated."

"You are a huge jerk! This will freak them out!" Kiba laughed, trying to hold back the tears of laughter. He never expected Neji to come up with a prank as good as this but Kiba also didn't see the blush on both the boy's faces when they had fell and Naruto stood frozen in Sasuke's arms.

"NO! I refuse to drop him off if this is your prank!" Sakura yelped, earning a smack to the side of the head by Ino.

"Shut up billboard, it's just a prank! Besides, it wouldn't hurt to bring them both down a notch at school since they are always arguing."

"S-she has a point" Hinata quietly added.

"Wait…you said strip?" Kiba asked. Gaara had just nodded, looking forward to Kiba's house which was just a few feet ahead.

"Wait…who's going to do that?"

"We can!" The blonde and pink haired girls said in unison, looking overly joyous.

"Sorry but no girls allowed in my room except Hinata and I guarantee you she won't want to be in the room." A blushed formed on her face as she looked away from the girls. "The only naked guy she is allowed to see is me!"

With that, a picture of a naked Kiba formed in all their heads. Three very loud complaints were heard as well as a small hiccup as Hinata turned redder than before.

They eventually entered the house. Ino and Sakura turned and headed towards Sakura's home and Hinata sat in the living room, waiting for Kiba. Kiba was going to walk her home as soon as he made sure Sasuke and Naruto were in his bed.

When the boys walked up to his room, Kiba had decided to turn on a dim lamp light to make sure to not wake up the boys. Placing Naruto on one side of the bed and Sasuke on the other, Gaara and Kiba just stared at one another.

"So….who's gonna do the stripping on who?" Kiba asked.

"I will help you with lifting Naruto but you do his clothes. Then we switch with Sasuke."

They agreed as they slowly and silently lifted Naruto and began to strip him of his clothing. After everything was off except his boxers, Kiba glanced nervously at Gaara.

"You think?"

"If you really want to piss them off, then yes but if you don't want to go that far than keep it on." Kiba's nervous glance turned to one of mischief. Oh yes Kiba wanted to go that far. He wanted to embarrass not only his friend but Sasuke, the asshole of the school. He just really didn't want two naked boys in his bed.

After considering it for a moment his grin widened. He had laundry to do tomorrow anyways he thought as he swiftly pulled the boxers off and covered the blonde with his blankets. Off to the raven as Gaara took care of Sasuke's clothing. You could tell he hesitated after grabbing the hem of Sasuke's boxers.

"We are going to die you know that, right?" Gaara said.

"Yeah, at least we will die together right?" And at that, Gaara peeled the black boxers off the boy and placed the covers over him as well. As they stood back to examine the two boys, they smirked. Leaving the room they began the waiting for when the two would wake up tomorrow morning.

Sadly, no one would know their reactions except Kiba.

Before they both left Gaara turned and glared at Kiba, "Make it believable or this will have all been a waste."

Kiba nodded and waved his reassurances, as he escorted Hinata down the street to her home; a smile playing on his lips the whole time.

He was excited to see what happened when they woke up! Never had he played this big of a prank on his friend…nor had he had one this bad done to him. Waking up with drawings on your face was not half as bad as waking up in a bed with someone of the same gender and not be able to remember anything from the night before.

Tomorrow morning was going to be awesome!


	2. Chapter 2: Confession

**Chapter 1 RECAP  
**

"We are going to die ya know that?" Gaara said.

"Yeah, at least we will die together right? Nothing wrong with that." And at that, Gaara had peeled the black boxers off the boy and placed the covers over him as well. As they stood back to examine the two boys in Kiba's bed, they smirked a little bit, waiting in anticipation for when the two would wake up tomorrow morning. Sadly, no one would know their reactions except each other and Kiba.

Before they both left Gaara had have him a reassurance and said something along the lines of "make it believable or this was a waste" and headed home.

Boy was Kiba excited to see what happened when they woke up! Never had he played this big of a prank on his friend…nor had he had one this bad done to him. Waking up with drawings on your face was not half as bad as waking up in a bed with the same gender and not remember a thing that had happened. Morning was going to be awesome!

* * *

**Chapter 2: Confession**

The sun was shining through the window as the shade from the tree just outside Kiba's window danced along the floor. It was a sunny Saturday in February and Naruto was just waking up from a really good dream. Not only did he win a year's supply of Ramen in a contest but he had also had graduated and got a job and was living life just happily. Yup, a good dream indeed. Slowly shifting in the bed, Naruto realized that he was in a bed and not on the floor. Memories flowed back in his mind; He was at a party last night, probably passed out and was staying at Kiba's. Taking a sniff of the air, Naruto could tell the distinct smell of the room. Yeap, it was Kiba's room. He smiled slightly when he opened his eyes and noticed he was really close to the edge of the bed and was facing the wall, opposite from where the door was but where the window was. Naruto's smile grew into its fullest form, stretching his legs, pulling the cover up closer to his face and decided to move to his other side because his left arm was suddenly numb. Well, it had been numb but he was too caught up in the blissful morning, that is, until he rolled over and felt a warm naked body in the same bed. His heart stopped for a moment, taking his arm away from the other person as he slowly looked towards the face of the other occupant in the bed. It wouldn't be so bad if it were Kiba because they have slept in the same bed before, seen each other naked but adding the two never happened. His gaze fell upon closed restful eyes with dark black hair. His breathing was quiet but normal and the Uchiha almost looked, peaceful. Naruto had never seen the boy look so calm and passive as he did now. Then it clicked…Sasuke Uchiha was in the same bed as him…naked?!

A loud "gah!" was heard in the house as Sasuke just opened his eyes to see Naruto jumping back and falling onto the floor, taking most of the covers with him . Sasuke, to say the least was shocked and scared. Damn was he scared….and naked. He caught the cold breeze from the room hit his warm body as he grabbed and tugged the blanket to cover as much of his bottom half as he could. Looking around, Sasuke never remembered being in a house or even a room like this. The smell was almost stale with a hint of wet dog lingering then he saw it, a pictures of Kiba and Hinata on the nightstand beside him and before he knew It, Naruto popped up from over the bedside, his face was red and eyes the size of dessert plates sent shivers down Sasuke's spine. _'What the fuck am I doing in Kiba's room naked?'_ was all Sasuke could think about and was followed by footsteps and the door opening.

Kiba's face, at first, looked concerned. He heard a yell and a loud bang, the last thing he wanted was two naked guys fighting in his room. That would be a Kodak moment (i.e. picture perfect). His eye flow went from the Uchiha who was desperately trying to keep his package covered while a stunned Naruto was on the floor beyond the bed. He couldn't hold it much longer as chuckles flew from his mouth into an all out laughter.

"You should see the looks on your faces! Oh gosh! This was worth letting you two use my bed last night!" He could hardly hold himself. He felt anger radiate off the boys as Naruto stood up, quickly realizing he didn't bring the covers and grabbed the covers just before it revealed Naruto in all his little glory.

"What the hell Kiba! What happened! Why the fuck did you do this!" Kiba just giggled more. Oh was he lucky to do this and experience this.

"I didn't. You two choose to do this on your own."

Blonde and Raven eyes watched intensely as Kiba looked at him, waiting for him to go on.

"I am going to have to clean by bed after what you two were doing last night. It was rather embarrassing actually." He may not look like it but Kiba was good at acting and decide to look embarrassed and began to scratch his head. "Don't…you two remember anything?"

"Refresh our minds." The Uchiha added.

"Well, it was all weird actually. You both were drunk and got into a fight. After creating a circle of watchers, watching you two argued and punched. It eventually lead to laughter and then kissing and then you can fill in the blank." There was his blush again. He was really just winging with his story and he felt he was doing a damn good job by the look on both the boys. "Gaara and I had to eventually get you two somewhere away from the party because you two were being obnoxious on many levels. Well, everyone expected that from Naruto but not Sasuke and seeing both do it was…different. Not many people see two guys dance and kiss and grind in the tables. I must admit Sasuke, you were bold, I never expected to see that side of you."

There didn't need to be words spoken, just the expressions showed that they were screwed…not because they believe the story but because they think the entire school knows. Payback was a bitch.

"Wh-what else happened?" Naruto asked nervously. He was really panicking.

Oh yes, now was the time to make sleeping on the couch worth it.

"We brought you both here because Sasuke didn't want to let you go. He held on to you and no one could prime him off you. Quite funny really; He's really possessive." The blush that showed on Sasuke's pale face did not go unnoticed but quickly recovered. "We dropped you both off on the couch and when I turned my back to get you guys water, you started to go at it like rabbits."

Yeap! The faces were well worth it!

"I didn't want you two going about the house, making a mess and having fun man sex, so I shoved you both in my room. I was surprised you had the energy that you both did. I think you both went at it for about an hour before I heard silence."

Sasuke was silently cursing. He knew he shouldn't have had as much to drink as he did but he wanted to have a fun time and just to hang out. He never expected to lose his virginity as well…especially to another guy while still in high school. His parents had always given him lectures about waiting and that they wanted "pure" grandchildren which meant children within marriage. His older brother Itachi had a child before marriage and before the marriage happened, Itachi had lost his wife in a car accident. Sasuke was just thirteen when that happened but remembers how angry his parents were with his older brother and how they wanted Sasuke to not to follow his brothers path anymore. So Sasuke was determined not to upset his parents. He was glad there was no way getting another guy pregnant…unless Naruto had something to explain or Sasuke wasn't dominant in last night's occurrence. He prayed that he was the dominant one. No way was he going to let any guy stick their ding in his dong.

"And so here we are you two love birds! But since you both are in a relationship, I am sure you two will have plenty of more times to have fun."

"Wait-what? Relationship? What relationship?" Sasuke added. Naruto found it best to stay quiet and act like he at least remembered something that happened but the more he tried to remember, the more painful it became. So sitting and thinking about nothing and just listening to the two would have to do. Besides, it was a Saturday morning; his brain would be turned off all weekend.

"You asked Naruto last night to be your 'girlfriend'." Kiba even emphasized the quotes with his hands. "Naruto just laughed and said you were an idiot because he was a guy so you asked if he would be your boyfriend and he agreed. Don't you remember any of it?"

Sasuke felt bad if all of this happened and Naruto remembered it all because he did not remember a thing about last night's occurrence Kiba claimed. If he said he didn't remember a thing and said it meant nothing and Naruto remembered and it meant something, he would be screwed with hurting him. Don't get Sasuke wrong, he picked on Naruto but he never hated him. Actually quite the opposite; he loved the blonde boy but always thought Naruto was straighter than a ruler and never made a move on him. Sasuke would not be surprised if that side of him came out and confessed. He had loved him for so long that holding it in was probably just bottling up his emotions and hormones to the point of breaking finally. It would be different if the Blonde didn't remember.

"Well I remember some stuff but some of it was a blur. Maybe after resting some more, the rest will kick in." What Naruto had just said scared Sasuke. He remembered something? Like what part and where and who? What was funny was that Kiba found this amusing. Naruto was lying that he remembered some so he didn't hurt the Ravens feelings if he remembered any of it as well. Kiba knew he was lying and just smirked at the comment.

"Let's hope so. There were so many casualties I mean witnesses that saw and probably remembered. It would seem weird that you two don't remember a thing."

"No, I do." Naruto couldn't lie any worse but Kiba already knew and Sasuke was in his own world.

"Oh, and you both need to hurry and get dress and leave since my mom will be home soon. I had to cover your asses and I just told her it was a prank and you two would be gone in the morning." The thing was, what was the truth in the story was a lie in reality. Kiba may not be the brightest in the box but he loved to confuse Naruto but who didn't? People did it so often that it could be considered a sport to some people.

"So where are my clothes?" Sasuke asked, looking around on the floor.

"Oh I forgot! You two were almost naked by the time I shoved you in my room so your clothes are actually in the living room. If you need to shower, it's right there." Kiba noted, pointing at a door on the opposite side of the room. "I will get your clothes for you."

And before they knew it, Kiba was out of sight. What they didn't know was that he stayed near the door to hear the convo between the boys. He was planning more but needed to wait on what the boys would do beforehand. It was quiet for a couple of minutes until Naruto couldn't handle the quietness and decided to break the silence he couldn't handle anymore.

"I-I think I am going to take a shower then." Naruto said, slowly pulling the blanket away and onto the bed, standing with the back of his naked body facing Sasuke.

"D-Dobe? What are you doing?" Sasuke's blush came back as he examined the sun God's body before him. The tan lean body stood with all its definition and toned muscles carving every curve and dip of his body. Not a single scar on his back and it was glowing with perfection.

"What?" I said I was going to take a shower."

"You-erm." Naruto could tell Sasuke was just a little nervous looking at the back end of Naruto and wouldn't admit out loud that he enjoyed it.

"Not like you haven't seen me before like this. After last night, I am sure." Sure, Naruto may have been right, if Sasuke did remember last night but the thing was, he couldn't for the life of him and really wanted to remember. There were only a couple of things that got on Sasuke's bad side…well a lot do but two things that drive him crazy. First, the Blonde that had just slept in the same bed with him naked. Two, not knowing things about himself that other's knew. He wouldn't show it but he did take online psychology tests and carefully read his results. If course when he disagreed, he threw the conclusions out and made up his own but he did agree with most of what he read about his own personality. Sure, he was sadistic and apathetic but not always. Very few got his attention as mentioned…and one being the blonde.

* * *

Sasuke returned home within an hour of Naruto heading in the shower. He quickly grabbed his clothing when Kiba tossed then in his room for them and basically got dressed in a minute and out the door the next, running home and trying to come up with a good excuse for his parents on why he didn't return home last night. On top of that, his morning breath would give away the slightest alcohol and his headache would prove he had a hangover. Of course, he couldn't come out and say it but he really didn't need to, his father and mother weren't dumb and learned how to detect the smallest influence because of Itachi. Oh wait. Sasuke paused for a moment. He was caught up so much into getting trouble and the issue with Naruto that he forgot that his parents were in Europe.

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed, stopping in his tracks as he remembered having a baby sitter come today to make sure everything was alright. "Oh well. Not that he can do anything about it." He shrugged and started back up in a walking pace. No need to run when you have the entire day to walk home.

His house was not too far from Kiba's down another subdivision. The only difference between the two subdivisions was that Sasuke's was down a subdivision that had expensive, large houses with luscious grass, bushes, and metal fences. The concrete sidewalks were glazed with trees and flowers and no cars parked out in the streets because of the large garage built for two or three cars and wide driveways. Although, during the winter, it almost seemed deserted as the pile of snow stacked up along the sidewalk and the trees being covered in snow, but it was alright, the sun was shining as puddle of snow were melting along Sasuke's path. Kiba's subdivision, on the other hand, had smaller houses but still big enough to be middle class and that's what the street was, a middle class housing while Sasuke's was higher class. After all, his parents owned one of the largest technology companies in the world.

Reaching the fence at the end of his driveway, he punched in the code and had his fingerprint scanned in. Damn was it tiring to do every time you came home, it seemed more like a prison with top of the notch security. Soon, entering the house, Sasuke threw his coat off and placed it loosely on the coat rack and took his shoes off before placing his feet on the soft dark blue carpet. Heading down the hall, he entered the end and entered into the kitchen, going to the closest counter top and opened a drawer where his mother hid the Tylenol. Reaching up and grabbing a glass up above him, he filled his glass at the refrigerator and headed back down the hall and headed up the stairs to his room. He was going to take a nap after checking his e-mail and facebook…and of course, after taking his pill.

"Ah master Sasuke. Good morning." He jumped a mile in the air, almost losing his glass at hand but dripped a couple of water that trickled down the side of the glass.

"Fuck. Don't scare me like that." It was Iruka, a man who cleaned his house every Saturday and apparently he also owned a small condominium three miles away which was state based and held families that could not pay for housing. Basically, Iruka ran the place and lived among them, trying to help and manage the place on the weekdays but he himself needed the money and took up the job of house cleaning for the Uchiha's. What the cleaning money was for, Sasuke never cared to ask or know. The state paid Iruka enough to manage the condo's so whatever Iruka did with his money was no businesses of Sasuke's.

"Sorry sir but I did want to let you know I just finished your room."

Slamming the door on Iruka, Sasuke signed while he leaned on his door. He really hated people going through his person belongings. In the past, the old house cleaners had found items in Sasuke's room that had got him in trouble with family and in the end, had him watched twenty-four hours. The first house cleaner found knifes that Sasuke used on his arms. That got him a long talk and counseling. The second one found some drugs that Sasuke was actually holding onto for a friend and ended up trying it. He figured he couldn't tell anyone he hated it if he never tried it. He went back to counseling. And then the last one before Iruka came into play had found some porn which wasn't even his in the first place. It wouldn't be so bad if the porn was women but no, they were magazines from Japan of yaoi and yuri. Sasuke was pissed at Neji for a month. When Sasuke had confronted his friend, he claimed he had it because of the girls but Sasuke questioned him and his sexual orientation at times. Sasuke's parents, of course, took action and tried hard to make him "perfect" again. But Iruka had been good and once one of Sasuke's, Suigestsu, had dropped condoms on the floor for Sasuke as a prank. Sasuke was sure the last three cleaners would have reported to his parents but no, Iruka just cleaned and picked up the packets of condoms and placed them in his nightstand in a nice pile under a pile of paper. Iruka was not bad, but still, Sasuke hated people going through his stuff.

Silently walking towards his desk that faced out one of his windows, Sasuke moved his mouse on his Mac and signed on. Connecting to the internet and logging onto his Hotmail account, he saw over two hundred new messages. Of course most of them were from fan girls at school who found his account through friends and passed it on, he would have made a new account if he wasn't so tired of getting a new one and having the same problem. So he just ignored and deleted the ones that were fan girls confessing their undying love for him. Surprisingly, most of his messages were not females, they were facebook messages, most of them notes from people at school. Opening another tab and going to facebook, he signed in and looked through the messages. He read the first few words to see if he was interested in reading them and boy was he shocked. One subject title was addressed from his friend Suigestsu asking if he really had a boyfriend and if it was Naruto. Scanning the rest of the messages, he nearly fainted when the messages were people asking about his night with Naruto while guys either congratulated him while girls still confessed and made rude comments towards a certain blonde, saying they were better for him than another guy.

"Damn it!" He cursed. Now the whole fucking internet is going to know about what happened.

On the other end of the subdivision was a smirking Hyuga. That morning, he had received a note from Kiba explaining everything that happened that morning. Not only did he send it to the Hyuga but also to Gaara, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, and other friends who would need to know about the prank to make school more interesting as like the relationship was real. After that, a rumor message was sent around through text messages and facebook. Who sent the rumors? A giggling Hyuga who was sitting back in his computer chair, sipping some fresh made honey green tea and waiting for the next move. Biy was he having fun.

* * *

Now I need to start my next chapter for my other fan-fic _"Stolen"_. I have been writing that one since October and published the 14th chapter on Monday! *lelele* I am not a writing major, I just write these for fun. It's a way I get my emotions out along with drawing. ;3 Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! REVIEWS ARE WONDERFUL! Even if I don't respond to all of them, I LOVE and appreciate them! THANKS SO MUCH GUYS!


	3. Chapter 3: School

**Chapter 3: School**

To say the least, Monday at school was interesting for not only Naruto and Sasuke but all those who did not know this whole thing was a prank. Word got out fast and friends agreed with the prank just for sheer pleasure and enjoyment. What else would some teenagers want in a dull town than drama? No, this was perfect for their entertainment. Sticking the most popular boy in the whole city with Naruto was just evil …but how else would you describe Neji and Gaara with a dirty trick.

Not only had the rumor gone from student to student but even teachers overheard the rumor and the only one who seemed to take kindly to this prank was none other than Kakashi Hatake, the English teacher. He had both the students in his class at 1:10 in the afternoon and boy was he going to have fun. Not only was he going to re-assign new seating arrangements today but also a new project. Oh yes, this was perfect for his boring life at school. For once, maybe reality was more exciting than his adult rated books he read in class. Even when principal Tsunade asked him to leave them at home, he brought them for years and never got fired. Maybe he will leave them at home from now on since drama in real life seemed much better than in his books.

As soon as Sasuke had walked into the hallways of Konoha high school, people not only parted his path but had ended conversations only to restart them with rumors they had heard about the raven. Glaring at everyone who seemed to be bothered by the fact that him and Naruto were "dating", he decided that If anyone were to mention it to him, they would instantly regret it and go home with a black eye. Yes, he would hurt them bad. He was having trouble trying to get his life back in order with no help from his friend's. They actually seemed to find this entertaining.

"Fuck them anyways." He mumbled. In a week's time, everything will be back to normal. At least, he hoped so.

Reaching his locker, Sasuke had realized that his locker was right next to the blondes. He had never paid close attention before to the people who had lockers around him because he never talked to any of them but it shocked him that the blondes was right next to his and he didn't even know it. He should have expected loud and immature conversations flying nearby so he would have remembered how close the dobe was to his locker. On the other hand, he ignored and glared at anyone he didn't want to talk to and not to mention the large crowd of fan girls leaning on his arms, asking to have lunch with him. Which reminded Sasuke…not a single fan girl had latched onto his arm this morning. Weird.

Opening his locker and ignoring the blonde, Sasuke hung his back pack onto a hook and reached to the top shelf to grab his advance placement chemistry book, the class he had first thing in the morning. After grabbing his book, notebook and a pen, he closed his locker only to see Naruto on his knees, tossing paper out of his locker and cursing.

"Shhhhiii"

"Uzumaki! Whatch your language!" Iruka, a staff hall monitor had yelled from across the hall. It was a normal occurrence to have staff outside in the hallway before and between classes since fights had occasionally broke loose then. Most were just watching out for Naruto and knew to watch him closely. Well, Kiba too but Iruka was fond of Naruto and kept a close eye on him. Students have even stated that they seen them two hang outside of school before but not like Sasuke cared…or otherwise he wouldn't have remembered that rumor. Wait.

"Naruto!" Kiba yelled as he kicked the boy on the floor lightly. "What are you doing down there?"

Nope, Sasuke was not interested in the conversation as he left…only to stop around the corner to hear the conversation.

"I lost my freaking homework. Dammit!"

"Naruto!"

"Sorry Iruka! I mean 'dang it'."

"What class did you lose it for?" Kiba leaned up against the locker facing the blonde, while crossing his arms.

"I thought you had my schedule memorized by now Kiba. I mean, it hasn't changed since August."

"Don't get prissy because you were laid. Geez. I thought it would have done the opposite to your mood. Maybe I should call Sasuke and ask him…" Before Kiba knew it, Naruto shot up to cover his friend's mouth which was spilling information he didn't want out. Sasuke was standing around the corner in shock. He was so scared of Kiba finishing that sentence. The last thing he wanted to hear was an idea about sleeping with Naruto. Not that the thought was bad but in public? No, you don't disgrace the Uhciha like that…ever.

"Shut it dog breath. I had to put up with more glares and attack from girls than I ever had my entire high school and middle school years."

"Maaanngg. Dats a dots." Kiba muffled, Naruto's hand still covering his mouth.

"I know that's a lot. And as always, he ignores me even when our lockers are next to each other." Letting his hand part from Kiba's mouth to let him comment. Kiba may be as big of an idiot as Naruto but he enjoyed his failing attempts at making him feel better.

"Aww don't worry Naruto. Come on. He's still Sasuke. He will always glare and ignore people even if he's dating anyone or not. It's just him. It's his personality. It would be like you calming down and actually not forgetting your homework and not sleep in class."

"I…I can do that!" Naruto startled, trying to prove that people can change.

"Haha! Yeah right! Ok, how about this. I bet you twenty dollars that you cannot go a whole week without sleeping in class or forgetting any homework."

"Only a week? Ppssh. That will be easy!"

"Starting tomorrow. Tonight, get some sleep." Rustling Naruto's already messy hair, he smiled, affirming that he actually did believe in Naruto.

Naruto's first class with Asuma in biology had been slow. He noticed students watching him as he walked and even as he just sat there in class. The girl's talks and glares had only made his stomach churn. He felt like crap. It's not like he was sober when any of this happened on Friday night. He didn't even know what to do. Was he supposed to tell Sasuke that it was all a mistake and walk away, breaking off something that may be more important to him? In the class next door, AP Chemistry with Orochimaru, Sasuke was thinking the same thing. The only difference was they he was not receiving too many glares, just looks of disappointment by the females that their dream of dating Sasuke had been crushed due to his interest in guys…not girls. But Sasuke wouldn't admit he was into guys. Actually he would argue that the only person who ever caught his attention was Naruto. It's not like he went around crushing on every cute guy in the school. No, he could careless except for one person and no matter how much he hated it, Naruto was always on his mind, positive and negative.

Lunch has finally arrived and Sasuke arrived at this table, Neji already sitting with his lunch from home all sat out. Soon, the girls followed through as Sakura hung to his left and Ino to his right. If any girl did not give up after the fact that he was taken already, it would be them.

"Sasuke! How was this morning hum?" Ino cooed, rubbing his shoulder while Sakura rubbed his other side.

"Hmp." As his usual response, he took a bite from his sandwich his mother had made for him this morning. She knew what he liked and made sure to add double the tomatoes and to never use ham meat.

Across the cafeteria at another round table sat Naruto and his group of friends. Gaara to his left and Shikamaru to his right and across the table were Kiba and Hinata with Shino to Kiba's other side.

Sasuke never noticed that Naruto ate warm lunches provided by the school. He was laughing and making everyone else at the table laugh or giggle in delight. He was a ball of sunshine, a loud one at that. Even being on the other end of the cafeteria, Sasuke could still hear the blondes voice as he was telling jokes left and right with exaggerated body movement. He looked like an idiot but an innocent one.

"Hey Sasuke." Neji brought him back to the current situation at his table. The girls had finally started eating their own food and the rest of his group appeared. They were ok friends. He only ever trusted Neji this that was all he paid any attention, if ever. "Why don't you go sit with your boyfriend? There's a set at his table."

The Hyuga received an icy glare at the word "boyfriend" being used in public. He was still handling all this information and he didn't really like the term "boyfriend" being used when he himself was a guy.

"Don't call him that."

"Why? Isn't that what you two are? Boyfriends?"

"Just don't use it. Use something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't care."

After a thought, Neji replied.

"Ok then. Go sit with your better half." He received another icy glare while the rest of the table giggled behind their covered mouths. Laughing out loud would really get on the ravens nerves and the preferred to keep their body from harm.

As much as he hated to admit it, Naruto was probably his better half anyways. Another loud laugh came from the other end of the cafeteria as Naruto cracked another joke on Kiba, who was frantically defending himself. A more lively group than his own. He couldn't describe the feeling but one moment he was glaring as Neji and the next, he was standing behind Naruto with his own lunch at hand. Whatever possessed him to make this move was probably the work of the devil…or Neji, Sasuke thought. His expressionless face caught the eyes of everyone on the area while Naruto was still laughing, wiping away tears from laughing so hard until Kiba pulled his worst nightmare out from under him.

"Oh hey Sasuke. Here to sit with us?"

It would be an understatement if I said the room was quiet, waiting for the next move. The raven simply nodded as Shikamaru moved a seat over so Sasuke could sit next to Naruto. The rest of the cafeteria went back to their chit chat and gossip on the two boys. Sitting next to one another was only fueling the rumor's lie more.

Lunch soon ended in silence except a few cracks Kiba added near the end and as soon as the bell rang, Naruto was gone and headed to Kakashi's class.

The class filed and as soon as the bell rang, Kakashi showed up at the door, closing it behind him, slowing walking up to the front of the room.

"So, everyone remembered what today is?" Waving a piece of paper in the air, the class mumbled and groaned. "That's right, time to change your seating arrangements. Everyone grab your stuff and stand up around the room as I call and place you in your new seats. You are to stay here for the rest of the school year. "

Kakashi started at the back, calling students as they took their seats, kids praising the back seats and moaning as they got to the front.

"Ah yes, and the last two…Sasuke you will sit here and Naruto, you will sit next to him, right next to my desk."

"Gah! What?!"

"I figured placing you in front would help your grades go up. It's proven by research that students who sit in the front get better grades." He smiled behind his mask as his eyes closed with pleasure.

Sitting down, Naruto slipped an embarrassed look to his left towards Sasuke. He knew God was not on his side when it came to good luck. First his parents and now this with Sasuke. What a wonderful life this was.

After the new seating arrangements, Kakashi decided to bring out the big project. Oh he was going to have fun sharing this and getting reactions.

"I have a new project for you all to do!"

More whimpers and groans came from the students as one yelled out, "are we going to choose our own groups?"

"That's not fun for me now is it?" He was slowly becoming the worst teachers in the school. Scratch that, no one beats Orochimaru and his lab assistant Kabuto and the gym teacher Might Guy. Oh man was Kakashi sane compared to them, but most of the students were thinking otherwise at this exact moment. Usually he was really lazy and didn't care and showed up to class late but today he was on time and also choosing their sets and project.

"I hope I get Sasuke!" a girl squealed from the back. Of course that was nothing new. Sasuke was sitting there with his arms crossed and his feet out in front, leaning back in his chair. He felt it, Naruto was looking at him.

"Yes Naruto?"

He stumbled on his seat, he didn't know Sasuke knew he was staring at him.

"Ah, well. You never seem to enjoy having all these girls wanting to be in your group. If I were you, I would be a happy guy with as many fans as you have."

"It's not as fun as you think. Besides…I don't need them now do I?"

"Why not?"

"Seeming as you and I are…"

"Ok class! The project will be done by two in a group and it will be the person to your left starting on this side." Kakashi said, pointing at the row Naruto was in and started to walk down the front, "down to this end. This means Naruto, to your left is Sasuke so he is your partner. So as of now, I want you to talk to your partner to pick what you are going to do the research and presentation on. It can be anything from chapter five to ten in your literature books. Go ahead."

* * *

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Naruto leaving the school and walking past the buses and down the street. Honestly, he was curious to know where he lived and why people said what they did about him. He never took time to find out much about him so why not now?

He followed him down the streets, in the opposite direction from the school and past Kiba's house. It took twenty minutes the opposite direction by foot to reach a street Sasuke had never been down before. He heard of the street but never been down it, his parents made it a priority to go around and not through, warning Sasuke that bad people lived down that street. Trailer's and dirty yards roamed both side of the street. Chained dogs were barking from beyond the fences at the passing boys as kids were playing wore dirty clothes. Parents were out smoking in their yards, noticing Sasuke walking behind Naruto and glaring at him. He knew he didn't belong. He wore dress shirts and nice pants to school every day which was his father's expectation, it's not like he had a choice. His $500 coat didn't help as well. He would be damed if he was beat and his clothes taken. He was probably enemy number one here and he didn't do a damn thing to them.

"Well if they get jobs maybe they could live better lives." Sasuke thought, pushing them out of his thoughts. The last thing he wanted was to feel sorry for some strangers he knew nothing about. Turning back to the blonde in front of him, he watched as he walked to a decent looking apartment complex. Walking up to the 2nd story, Sasuke stood around the corner, waiting for Naruto to enter his place before he got any closer. Once Naruto had unlocked his apartment, Sasuke had walked quietly to the door, listening to see if Naruto was near the door. It sounded like he just took off his shoes and started to walk away. Sneaking up to the front window, Sasuke could see just a tiny bit between the shades into the apartment. He was rather surprised that the house was clean but looked bare. The kitchen table consisted of two milk crates with a wooden board across the two and a pillow on the floor as a seat. There was space for a small living room but nothing was in it except a small tv on the floor. He couldn't see anything further into the place than that. Naruto had re-appeared around the corner and Sasuke watched him go to some cupboards, which were bare of food except Ramen cups. Naruto grabbed a glass and went to the sink and filled it with water.

"Where's his family?" Sasuke thought. "Not like he lives alone. Who pays the bills?"

He was about to leave the apartment before he heard an acoustic guitar and singing inside the house. Sneaking back to the window and looking inside, he couldn't believe what he saw. Naruto was sitting in front of his kitchen table with his guitar singing. (1)

**This time I wonder what it feels like**  
**To find the one in this life**  
**The one we all dream of**  
**But dreams just aren't enough**  
**So I´ll be waiting for the real thing.**  
**I'll know it by the feeling.**  
**The moment when we´re meeting**  
**will play out like a scene straight off the silver screen**  
**So I`ll be holdin' my own breath**  
**Right up to the end**  
**Until that moment when**  
**I find the one that I'll spend forever with**

**`Cause nobody wants to be the last one there.**  
**'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.**  
**Someone to love with my life in their hands.**  
**There`s gotta be somebody for me like that.**

**`Cause nobody wants to do it on their own**  
**And everyone wants to know they´re not alone.**  
**There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere.**  
**There`s gotta be somebody for me out there.**

He recognized the song, he heard it on the radio a lot recently. Nickelback? When did Naruto learn to play the guitar and sing? How many other secrets did he have laying beyond the walls of the school? And why this song?

**You can´t give up!**  
**Lookin´ for that diamond in the rough**  
**You never know but when it shows up**  
**Make sure you´re holdin` on**  
**'Cause it could be the one, the one you´re waiting on**

**Nobody wants to be the last one there**  
**'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.**  
**Is there somebody else that feels the same somewhere?**  
**There has gotta be somebody for me out there.**

Silence overtook the space between them. Even though Sasuke was outside the house, he felt like he was right beside him, like the song was directed towards him, to him, for him. Tears flew from Naruto's eyes, his head hanging low, mumbling something Sasuke couldn't make out.

"Sasuke?" A familiar voice called out, startling the young Uchiha, making his way up to stand.

It had been Kiba standing there just around the corner.

"You ok? Your crying?"

Was he? He didn't even notice until he wiped his eyes with his hand and saw that he was crying.

"Dude, aren't you cold? It's winter and your standing out here crying. Why don't you ask Naruto if you…"

By the time Kiba had almost finished his question, the raven took off down the hall and down the stairs. He was crying over a song Naruto was singing. He couldn't help it…he has so much passion and emotions as he sang it. With all the concerts he had been too, he never heard anyone sing with so much vulnerability as Naruto had. Not only that, Kiba had caught him sneaking on Naruto and crying…CRYING! Uchiha's don't cry!

Making his way home, he had entered his house, realizing what time it was and that his family had started to eat dinner already.

"Sasuke?" Shit, it was his father who walked into his vision.

"Ahh, yes father?"

"Why are you late?" Shit. He had better had a good reason. His father did not take kindly to lies or excuses that were not important.

"I was staying after school to help some students with their homework."

"Why are you out of breath?"

"I didn't…want to miss dinner."

"Why do I feel like you're lying. Are you lying to me?"

Double shit!

"No. I'm not."

"I'll deal with you after dinner. For now, head to the kitchen, your mother made a big meal."

Damn it, his father knew he was lying about where he was. His stomach sank at the thought of the punishment after dinner. He wanted anything except to go into his father office alone.

* * *

The next day at school, Sasuke acted like nothing happened, his expressionless face showed no hint of guilt as he walked passed Kiba in the hallway. He wanted to forget what happened yesterday, all of it. School, Naruto, Naruto's singing and especially what his father did last night. He made sure to wear a long sleeve dress shirt to hide the bruises on his arms. He had received too many questions from Neji about his bruises in the past but he wanted to avoid it all together from everyone. It was his and his families dirty little secret. No one were to know.

Naruto was at his locker again with Kiba next to him laughing. They both were laughing. Sasuke sneered at the thought of Naruto coming to school, acting happy and cheerful when he was really hurt deep down but hid it. His arm started to itch where his new bruise formed. Wasn't he doing the same thing? Hiding his real pain away from everyone? Who cares, he didn't need anyone's help.

The five minute bell rang and they separated to their classes. Today, after school and after his bed time, he was going to sneak out and head to Naruto's house to get some answers. He needed answers. There was too many things going on he didn't know but anted to know.

* * *

1. (the song .com/watch?v=roX7ZILHjSg)

Sorry guys that this took so long. I had mid-terms this last week and this week I am on Spring break in San Diego! This was also a quick chapter for me to write…I had a HUGE headache writing this and I didn't want to write it at all. *sigh* Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4: Naruto, your someone else

Ending of Chapter 3 recap:

The next day at school, Sasuke acted like nothing happened, his expressionless face showed no hint of guilt as he walked passed Kiba in the hallway. He wanted to forget what happened yesterday, all of it. School, Naruto, Naruto's singing and especially what his father did last night. He made sure to wear a long sleeve dress shirt to hide the bruises on his arms. He had received too many questions from Neji about his bruises but he wanted to avoid it all together from everyone. It was his and his families dirty little secret. No one were to know.

Naruto was at his locker again with Kiba next to him laughing. They both were laughing. Sasuke sneered at the thought of Naruto coming to school, acting happy and cheerful when he was really hurt deep down but hid it. His arm started to itch where his new bruise was formed. Wasn't he doing the same thing? Hiding his real pain away from everyone? Who cares, he didn't need anyone's help.

The five minute bell rang and they separated to their classes. Today, after school and after his bed time, he was going to head to Naruto's house to get some answers.

* * *

It was just a Prank

**Chapter 4: Naruto, your someone else aren't you?**

* * *

Spinning his combination to his locker, Sasuke overheard the conversation between Kiba and Naruto about the bet they made yesterday. It was rather funny to see Naruto early and ready for class but a whole week of this? Even Sasuke felt like Kiba was going to be $20 richer next week.

"So did you get all your homework done fox face?" Kiba asked, leaning against some lockers watching Naruto get his pile ready for the class he had in the morning.

"Yeap! Went to bed early too!"

"Whoa! You weren't up all night playing video games?!"

"Fuck Kiba, you know I don't have a video game system!"

"Yeah. Instead you come to my house and play my games and eat my food and sleep in my bed. I should charge you rent each time you visit and stay the night."

"Don't you mean I should pay rent to your mom? The only thing you pay for in your room are those adult magazines."

"God dam---dang it Naruto!" Hushing Naruto as much as he could about his stash of porn magazines he had between his mattresses. Even though he was going to be an adult within the next year, he knew his mom and sister would throw a fit if they found out their younger son and brother had images of naked women. Chuckling at Kiba's reaction, Naruto slammed his locker closed and faced his friend directly.

"Don't worry Kiba. I am not going to go tattle on you. You're a big boy." Patting his shoulder as he started to walk towards his class, "It's probably the only naked women you will ever see."

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh inside his head as Naruto took off towards his class as Kiba went after him, yelling at him about how he doesn't need to hear it from someone like him. Closing his own locker with his AP Chemistry books, Sasuke was stopped by Neji who appeared behind his locker door.

"You're wearing long sleeves today?" Brushing the comment aside, his shoulder pushed Neji out of his way to show he was not interested in talking about anything. After two steps, Sasuke was pushed against the lockers with Neji holding him against the cold metal by his chest, using his other arm to pull up his sleeve. Sasuke struggled to keep the bruises on his arm hidden from the line of site, not just from Neji but anyone else who happen to walk by.

On his right arm, a bruise the shape of a hand was seen just a little lower from his elbow. Something like this could have only been by someone who was holding him down while Sasuke struggled. More bruises were seen in other places but not as dominant at the large hand print.

"Sasuke. Who did this?"

Pulling his arm way from Neji , letting his sleeve fall down to cover his arm again. Sasuke pushed the Brunette off him and glared.

"It's none of your fucking business."

"It is my business when you are being abused by someone. Come on, who did this?"

The cold glare from Sasuke did not phase Neji, not once. He was use to the icy glares and stares from Sasuke whenever he knew he hit a nerve. When people said Sasuke was emotionless, they obviously never hung out with Sasuke enough. If anything, he was full of emotions, all the emotions that did not participate with the word "happy" but rather just content or annoyance. Depends on how his day is. Neji eventually backed away and crossed his arms.

"I suggest getting help. Talk to the counselor or something. You can't keep going on like this. You don't deserve it."

Deserve it? He did deserve it, well at least Sasuke thought so. He was late getting home and lied…lied to his father. Not only that, he didn't even let them know a head of time that he was going to be late and his curiosity got the best of him. They always said that curiosity killed the cat, and Sasuke was just that, a small helpless cat in comparison to his older brother. No, more like a kitten. Ever since he could remember, his brother was always praised and given extra attention from his father. His mother was just but still seemed distant but Sasuke just figured it was just because she was busy with housework and keeping the family business organized.

"No."

An amused look came across Neji's face. He was shocked to see Sasuke respond for once.

"No what?"

Sasuke shifted his weight. "I can't go to the counselors."

"If you don't go, I will personally walk in and tell them."

"The fuck you will. This is my business not yours."

"You know I am eighteen, ne Sasuke?"

"Yeah. What the fuck does that have anything to do with this?"

"As the law state's, I am required as an adult to report any abuse that has been placed in a minor. You are not yet eighteen and thus you are a minor. I am required by law to make sure you tell someone or I will have to for you."

Dammit! Sasuke hated the spot he was in. Fuck, Neji shouldn't even be lecturing him or even caring about his life. If his own father acted like he was a burden to the family, why the fuck should anyone else care? Sure, he was top student in the school and the best since his brother graduated, not to mention all the awards he had received for sports and scholarships. No, in comparison to his brother, he was just a mini reflection of his brother. Graduating high school at a young age and entering college when he was only sixteen and going to Harvard school for business. Of course no matter what Sasuke did, he was still the underdog…the burden, unwanted.

"Leave me alone."

Before Neji knew it, Sasuke was down the hall heading towards Chemistry class.

"I say that went well." He said to himself, making his own way to his class before the bell rang.

* * *

Classes went by and all Sasuke could think about was sneaking out of his house tonight to go to Naruto's place. He wondered if Kiba had explained about the incident that happened outside the blonde's apartment and if he was doing the right thing but he was curious as ever. He hated not having his questions left blank with no answers to make sense of anything. Lunch rolled around and due to his embarrassment with Kiba, Sasuke decided to stay at his own table this time and eat in peace. Well, as much peace as he could get between the girls, Neji and some other friends hanging at his round table. He occasionally glanced across the cafeteria to see the blonde laughing and eating his food, occasionally doing both and making a fool of himself when a piece of burger fell out. It seemed his friends were unfazed by this but just laughed or facepalmed. As a class clown and also very thick headed, no one could hate someone who was so naïve because he was just innocent. Glancing back and forth from Naruto to his own table, Sasuke's eyes caught as he saw some of his football teammates from the fall make their way towards Naruto's table. He didn't know why but watching the way they made their way to the table made him sense trouble. It was often that they would pick on random people from the school, mostly people who weren't very athletic or smart…which Kiba and Naruto fell under. Sure, they both played sports but they weren't the star in the games.

In a split second, the sound of screaming erupted the place and a crowd started forming around Naruto's table.

"Fuck. What now?" Sasuke murmured and sat up to see what was happening.

* * *

'The bastard didn't even say a fucking thing to me while we were at the lockers nor did he sit with me during lunch. Cold hearted bastard' Naruto thought to himself as he sat there eating his burger he got from the lunch line. It wasn't the best food in the world but he couldn't complain; it was better than some of the food he ate at home besides the Ramen of course.

"Yo, Naruto?" Shikamaru brought Naruto back from his trance. "Why isn't Sasuke sitting with you today?"

Looking around, his table took interest in this question as Kiba just grinned. Last night, when Kiba had visited him at his place, he was told about Kiba running into the Raven outside his house and how he took off without saying anything. It was a little embarrassing knowing Sasuke followed him to his house and was spying on him. He freaked out for about twenty minutes until Kiba could sway his mind onto something else. But come on, Naruto didn't like how he was ignoring him today.

"I don't know. Don't care." Taking another bite into his burger.

"You say you don't care now, later you will care when you can't get a piece of Sasuke meat in your…" Before Naruto knew it, he had spit his food out and smacked Kiba's mouth shut. Damn, did everyone have to be perverted here.

"Shut it dog breath," Naruto whispered. "or I will tell them about last summer when you wet your pants on the road trip with your family."

Kiba freaked and pushed Naruto's hand from his face.

"Fine…geez. Don't have to be so sensitive."

"Well fuck. I don't feel comfortable talking about this yet." Looking down at his tray of food, he thought about how he really didn't have anyone to talk about this to. Kiba just laughs and makes perverted jokes, Shikamaru could careless, Hinata seems to be uncomfortable and Gaara, well he's just Gaara.

Shikamaru's eye brow rose at Naruto's last comment. "So your saying you will be comfortable in time?"

A red blush filled Naruto's cheeks. He didn't mean it that way but everyone at the table was laughing.

'Why the fuck are they laughing? Am I missing something?'

Lunch was going to be over in about fifteen minutes before some un-expecting guests came over to their table while Naruto was drinking his milk.

"So, it looks like Uzumaki not only is a demon but a demon who likes it up the ass huh?"

The table turned to look at where the voice came from. There, half way surrounding the table was a few of the football all-stars. Never had they went over to them and talked to them. Usually they just stayed in their own corner and talked about football and girls. He didn't know any of them on a personal level, just what he heard in classes and in the hallways.

There they were, tall and built boys, some seniors and some juniors but nonetheless, jocks. The table mumbled and turned to their own business, trying to ignore them to let them know they weren't interested in fighting.

The table scooted when one of the boys pushed Naruto's chair in, causing his abdomen area to crush between the pressures of the chair and table. Students started to yell and stand to see what was happening.

"I don't like being ignored." The boy hanging over Naruto said as he leaned down to make sure he heard him.

"I have the right to ignore you. Now get off me before your sweat smelling face gets on me."

Naruto blanked out when his head was pressed down into the table. A loud thud was heard around the cafeteria and some students gasped. Warm liquid fell from Naruto's head over his closed eyes. Blood…he knew what it felt like but he was still in a daze to catch on to what was happening. All he heard was Kiba getting up and the shuffling of chairs as Shikamaru and Hinata tried to hold Kiba and Gaara back before a huge fight would break out.

"Leave him the fuck alone you asshole!" Kiba yelled, trying to swing punches at the boy who slammed Naruto's face in the table.

"Oh, and who's going to stop me, little dog boy?" His friends roared with laughter before a punch landed on one of their faces, falling back into the crowd of people. Naruto stood there, hand still in place where he punched the boy, shaking hard.

"You can beat and hurt me all you want, but when it comes to my friends…I will fight."

The boy stood up and wiped a small drip of blood hanging from the side of his lip then examined it on his arm. A smirk formed and a small rumble of laugher escaped his throat. Was he...laughing at Naruto?

"That punch was a women's punch. It hardly hurt at all. Tell me, do you have any male dignity in you?"

It wasn't worth it. He was going to ignore the comment and just turn to Kiba to make sure he was ok…then maybe go to the nurse's office to get his head cleaned up but he was interrupted by the boy again.

"I guess that's what happens when you're an orphan. No wonder your parent's left you. What good are you? If I pay you, would you also suck me off? We both get what we want. You can get money to buy whatever you want and I get my dick sucked."

Naruto was disgusted at even the thought of doing that to another guy…especially for money. If he was going to do such act, it wouldn't be for money or by force but with someone on a more intimate level, someone who wouldn't use and discard him when they got what they wanted. He looked down and saw that his head was still dripping blood into his shirt, arms, legs, and floor. He hated this. He hated when he was always picked on for having a demon contained inside of him and also for being a slow learner but that wasn't his fault. And his parents…no, they loved him from what he heard from people who knew them and from pictures.

"Leave him alone."

A familiar voice rang out into Naruto's ears as he looked back up to see Sasuke walking through the crowd between him and the football players.

"Aw come on Sasuke." The leader whined. "You know sharing brings brothers together."

Sasuke had enough of this. Before, if something like this happened to Naruto, he could careless but now…now he cared. He is intrigued by the blonde, whom no one has ever been able to catch his attention quite like he had. Naruto was his and as Uchiha's are, they are possessive. If someone was going to touch him, it would only be him and no one else.

"No. Leave him alone."

"Fine. Not like he's worth it. He's not worth living."

After the football players had left the scene, Sasuke turned to look at Naruto to see if he was alright. The blonde was holding his own arm and what appeared to be shaking. Kiba made his way over to Naruto and pulled the hair in front of his face away. Smearing Blood on his hand, Kiba and the others saw just how hurt Naruto was. Not physically but emotionally. Tears mixed with blood ran down his cheeks and they could tell Naruto was crushed. All of them knew, except Sasuke, that what the boy said about Naruto's parents and not wanting to be loved by them, hit him harder than even his head to the table.

"Naruto?" Kiba asked. The blonde slowly looked up at Kiba and saw Sasuke standing beside him. Scared and on the edge of breaking down, Naruto only could do what he felt was the only option,

run.

Without even grabbing his books and paper for Kakashi's class, Naruto took off down the hall and out the school. Kiba ran after him, trying to call Naruto and to tell him he needed to be looked at for his injury but he didn't listen and soon Kiba's perseverance quit on him as his body stopped.

As for Naruto, he ran. He ran until he couldn't run anymore and stopped in a park near his house. Walking out towards the dock, he noticed small raindrops starting to ripple on the lake's surface.

"It would rain right now." He said quietly to himself as he sat down on the dock's end, hanging his feet over the edge. His shoes didn't quite touch the water so he didn't bother taking them off. Looking into his own reflection, he could tell that his head had dry blood and his shirt and pants were ruined with blood stains. Won't be the first time a good shirt and pants are thrown aside for clothes that he used as wash rags or as clothing to wear when he helped his neighbors and the owner of the apartment's paint rooms that needed a new layer. He was finally down to two pairs of jeans and didn't have money to pay for new ones, not after this month bills. If he had any leftover money, he would place them in a glass jar that he hid in his closet and save it for emergencies. Too often he had to spend the extra money on medical bills and expenses but for the most part, his visits were reduced due to his circumstance.

The rain started to fall harder and wash his face from remaining blood and drenched his clothing in five minutes but he never moved. He really didn't want to go home because no one was there; no one was waiting for him. At least here, he can see people and actually do stuff instead of sitting in his place with nothing to do. Although, he did have homework and he was thinking about how he is going to lose his bet to Kiba already since he is going to miss half his classes today and not have homework ready. If he gave Kiba $20, he knew he would have to buy just ramen this week's groceries…which meant no milk or soup or rice. Just Ramen for the week, not that it's a bad thing but it was sacrifice.

The blonde had no idea how long he sat there on the deck before he deiced to get up to get warm. It wasn't exactly spring yet but the snow had been melting and it's been warming up but nonetheless, it was still a little chilly.

On his walk back home, he had decided that a warm shower, a hot cup of Ramen, and bed sounded nice. Actually, just skipping food and the shower sounded great. Making up his mind, he opened his apartment and walked in, taking his soaked and squeaky shoes off at the door and made his way into his bedroom to grab a clean pair of boxers and headed to the bathroom to take his wet, clingy clothes off.

After placing his clothing out to hang over the tub and got his dry and clean boxers on, Naruto went to the front door to lock it and headed back to his room and collapsed on his bed which was just a pile of blankets and pillows in a corner of his room.

He had bought cheap blankets at goodwill and occasionally a local church would hear of his needs and give him items he needed along with a Bible. He didn't really need the Bible and occasionally read through it but after reading the first few Chapters in Genisis, he couldn't handle much more. Iruka, a teacher at the school, was one man who knew of his needs and donated and helped him financially when he could.

Sighing, Naruto felt his stomach rumble with pain for food. Ignoring his body's call, he pulled the blankets over his head, crying himself to sleep. It was a terrible day and he wished he could just disappear from the world so no one could hurt him anymore.

It was around 7:20pm when Naruto heard a loud banging from his front door. It startled him at first until he heard Kiba's voice through the door.

"Naruto! Please answer the door! I know you're in there. Please?"

There was a long pause. The Blonde didn't want to get up or even face his friend at the moment so he just pulled the blankets over his head and covered his ears with his pillow. Kiba kept banging and yelling for the next ten minutes and it became quiet again. Naruto didn't know if Kiba had left by now so he just rolled over again and went back to bed.

He woke up again to soft knocking at his door. Rubbing his red raw eyes, Naruto looked over at his alarm clock and noticed that it was 11 at night. The small knocks continued as Naruto sat up in his bed. Maybe it was Iruka checking up on him but whom this late at night? If it was Kiba, Naruto was sure he would be pounding on his door much harder and more consistently while trying to speak to him through the door. Half asleep and half curious, Naruto got up with a blanket wrapped round his entire body and over his head, just enough open space for Naruto's face to be hot by the cold air in his house. He was cold but he couldn't bring up the heat in his house because he couldn't afford it.

Pushing his shoes aside to open the door, he opened the door slightly just to make sure someone wasn't going to be barging in to steal from him. Wouldn't be the first nor the last time but before him stood a slightly taller dark figured.

"Naruto?"

It was Sasuke's voice.

-------------------------------------------  
Authors comments: Sorry it took so long for a new chapter. T-T I had Exams, then Spring Break, then catch up week since I didn't do any homework on Spring Break. D8 Why is this story much more popular than my other "Stolen" one?! Is it because it's a high school setting? Maybe the story is just better? More catching? More interesting? Funny? I HAVE NO IDEA! . I will find out someday! Also I wanted to say that I am in a lot of physical pain. I won't bother you with details but just to let you know I am in a lot of physical pain and it's been hard to walk around. If you wish to know, you can send me a message. :)

Reviews please? Oh...and no beta reader for this so there are probably a lot of grammar issues.


	5. Chapter 5: Tonight, it’s what we have

On gosh. THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL THE REVIEWS AND MESSAGES! You have no idea how much it helps me with my depression. :D I may not respond to all of them because college is a bugger but I do read all of them and I can't help but smile when I see my inbox full of messages! this chapter is almost 5,000 words D8 And also, I know a couple of you were all like "WTF! 2 chapters uploaded from Penda? AWESOME!" then you open it and see they both were just links to a drawing of mine I drew of Naruto. xD Sorry for misleading but I LOVE drawing Naruto all happy! He makes me happy! It's 4:14am my time so I need rest. . And about my story stolen, I am working on the next chapter. That one's taking longer to upload because I don't know where to go from there. Any ideas, pass them my way! THANKS GUYS!

-Penda

* * *

Ending of Chapter 4 recap:

He woke up again to soft knocking at his door. Rubbing his red raw eyes, Naruto looked over at his alarm clock and noticed that it was 11 at night. The small knocks continued as Naruto sat up in his bed. Maybe it was Iruka checking up on him but whom this late at night? If it was Kiba, Naruto was sure he would be pounding on his door much harder and more consistently while trying to speak to him through the door. Half asleep and half curious, Naruto got up with a blanket wrapped round his entire body and over his head, just enough open space for Naruto's face to be hot by the cold air in his house. He was cold but he couldn't bring up the heat in his house because he couldn't afford it.

Pushing his shoes aside to open the door, he opened the door slightly just to make sure someone wasn't going to be barging in to steal from him. Wouldn't be the first nor the last time but before him stood a slightly taller dark figured.

"Naruto?"

It was Sasuke's voice.

* * *

It was just a prank

Chapter 5: Tonight, it's what we have

"Hey dobe." Was all Naruto heard before the Raven walked into his apartment without even asking permission or given Naruto a chance to protest.

The apartment was different than his own home; looking inside was unlike actually being inside. At least from outside, you couldn't feel the stale cold air brushing on your skin, making the house seem all the more bare and lonely than before.

The door closed silently behind him and Naruto stood there stunned. He didn't expect Sasuke to arrive at his place; he didn't even think he would even talk to him after today. Scratching the back of his head under the blanket, Naruto was trying to find something to say but couldn't. His raw eyes were starting to water from how late and cold it was but he was still wrapped in his blanket for warmth but with bare feet.

After a couple minutes of silence between the two standing in Naruto's bare living room, Naruto brought it upon himself to start a conversation.

"So, what's going on?"

"Hmmp." Was the only response before Sasuke turned and started to walk towards the kitchen with Naruto following closely behind.

"Ya know Teme. You could just talk like a normal person. After all, you just barged in my place without warning." They entered the small and yet wide and bare kitchen. Empty ramen cups were scattered across the counter tops and cups filling the sink. Sasuke could tell the Blonde dobe hadn't done dished recently but it was not his place to argue. He came up to a cupboard guessing that it was the glass and cup cupboard and opened it. To his luck, he had opened the right one and grabbed a glass and filled it with water before setting it down and turning to look at the blonde.

He really did look silly covered in the blankets like he was, swollen red eyes with black rings and the small amount of hair that snuk through the sheet. Sasuke could tell he was not doing alright but thought he would be kind and not crack a joke on his appearance. Not to mention Naruto was not wearing socks so the cold floor stung his feet when it touched the tiled kitchen floor. His cold and uneasy feet switched weight every couple of seconds.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

Well, that was only half right. After today in the cafeteria, a small pain of guilt struck his cold heart and warmed it. After all, Naruto was his boyfriend and the least he could do was at least act like he cared. Sasuke did care but he didn't know how to show it.

"That's it? You couldn't have waited till school tomorrow?"

"There's no school tomorrow dobe."

"Wait…what?"

"It's teacher and parent conference day. We don't have classes."

Feeling stupid for forgetting about that in the announcement, he looked down at his feet which he couldn't feel anymore. He couldn't help but shiver which did not go unnoticed by Sasuke. Walking towards the blonde, Sasuke cautiously grabbed his hands and started to pull him in the direction which Sasuke thought to be where his bedroom was. Passing a bathroom and a closet, the last door could only lead to the bedroom but when Sasuke arrived, he didn't see anything in the room except a small nightstand, school textbooks and paper on the floor and a pile of pillows and blankets. He couldn't believe what he saw and turned to Naruto.

"Where's your bedroom?"

Shifting his weight endlessly, he felt a little embarrassed to say that this was it.

"Well, this is my bedroom."

Sasuke was shocked at the fact that this was all he had. Sure, textbooks from the school were given to every student and were handed back at the end of the year and the school supplied paper and pencils but the room was just so…bare. It couldn't be a bedroom, there wasn't even a bed.

Knowing what Sasuke was thinking, Naruto interrupted his thoughts,

"I usually sleep on the floor. It's not so bad once you get used to it."

Naruto was trying to laugh at the matter and pull it off like it was some sort of joke but the fact still remained, Sasuke was speechless. Turning back to the blonde, Sasuke again grabbed his hand and walked over to the pile of blankets and made his way to lie down after releasing Naruto's hand. Taking his shoes off, he patted the spot beside him and motioned Naruto to join him. This was the first time Sasuke showed any interest in him and it started him for a moment but not too long before he was laying down next to Sasuke; face to face.

"I am going to hate tomorrow." Sasuke commented, trying to start a conversation to keep his mind from falling asleep. The last thing he needed was being out all night and have his parents find out he left in the middle of the night. Shifting onto his back and placing his hands behind his head, Sasuke noticed how close they were to the window because the moon was shining down on him and lighting up the whole room.

"Why? Are you going in with your parents?"

"No. But I will hear about it from my parents."

"Here about what?" Naruto moved onto his back as well, looking at the glowing ceiling and recognizing patterns from the texture.

"Ya know, the usual." Gesturing with his hand, pushing away his words like they were objects floating in the air. "Find out where I am weakest in and talk to me about it and then talk about college and tell me to be like my older brother."

Sure, it seemed like a normal family conversation to Sasuke, he had that all his life but Naruto, he sort of longed for that in his own life. He wanted a dad to give him the look of disapproval and his mother lecturing him about cleaning up after himself. All the other teens complained about having nagging parents, Kiba did all the time and occasionally his mom would nag Naruto. Not that Naruto minded when that happened; actually he would smile and thank Kiba's mom and would confuse both Kiba and his mom.

"Where are you going for college?"

Shrugging, Sasuke was un-phased by the question, like it was old news.

"I wanted to get away from home and move to be on my own but it's not working out that way."

"How come?" Naruto didn't feel it was his business but when will he get another opportunity to talk to Sasuke about this.

"My mom's been sick so I want to stay around for her but my dad is practically choosing my career and college for me. I don't have much of a say."

Well, it made sense if you knew about his family's riches and his father's personality. Naruto had ran into the older Uchiha a couple of times in the stores, at school and just in the media. Very hard headed and stern, it is what makes him so well known, respected and feared all in one. Having him as a father would be scary the blonde thought, looking back over at the Raven whose eyes were closed by now. The pale skin seemed to radiate the moon light off of Sasuke's skin, making him glow ever so slightly. His face was slightly thinner than Naruto's and his cheekbones accented his bony structure but in a beautiful and mysterious way. The small breathing filled the Uchiha's chest as it rose and fell so carefully and gently as his nose wrinkled ever so slightly for a brisk moment.

"What are you going to do then?"

It sort of caught Naruto off guard that Sasuke would even ask or care….well he was his boyfriend so it should mean that Sasuke did care.

"Honestly, I just thought I would try and get a job."

"You mean you're not going to college?"

Flushed, all he could do was look away from the Raven who had turned his gaze towards the Blonde. Compared to Sasuke who had a 4.0 GPA because of honors and extra work with the local college, Sasuke was, without question, their class valedictorian. The kid did everything; had A's in every class, was in honors, in student counsel, volunteered, played sports. Sasuke was the schools prized student and every girl tried their hardest to get a hold of his attention and had a lot of respect from the males in the school. Even in the locker room, Sasuke was settle and quiet but no one ever messed with him. Naruto felt inferior next to Sasuke in every area. He never received A's, getting a B was a big deal but B-'s and C's were Naruto's average grade score. Not to mention he was the class clown, not by choice, it just came natural. When it came to sports, well, he kept the bench warm for the other players which was helpful right? Thinking back to his high school career and with graduation a couple months away, he felt rather, insignificant, unloved and unnoticed.

Rolling over onto his side facing away from Sasuke and pulling the covers over his face; it was enough just to say that he thought he wasn't good enough or wouldn't even cut it through college. Not to mention financial aid and paperwork he would have to fill out and traveling expenses. Getting a job first and saving money is all Naruto could think of to do before he even thought about college. Online courses could work too but he always had a hard time even doing homework without being distracted by something in the same room or by his stomach calling out for food. Speaking of food, he had not had dinner and just slept when he got home from school. Now he was feeling the pain of an empty and unsatisfied stomach.

What Naruto didn't notice was that his thoughts had created a five minute break of silence and his shifting to turn on his side only gave Sasuke the hint that Naruto was upset by the thought.

"Ya know, you're not as dumb as you make yourself out to be."

Naruto was a bit taken back by that statement. Its' not like Sasuke would know what he got on his report cards in the mail or even his test scores. He wasn't meant for education, actions were what made a person successful or not, not their education. But still it did help.

"What I mean is, you're strong and secure. You give it your best and take small steps at a time and that's something that most people don't have. I bet about half the students on our class who go to college won't even finish four years. You set your mind to something and you actually see it all the way through even if it's hard."

Naruto was shocked at the words Sasuke had just spoken. It was almost caressing his self-esteem and making him stronger, happy to be who he was. Sasuke always had a way with words.

A warm embrace surrounded Naruto as strong stead arms that pushed him back into Sasuke's hard chest. Naruto could only guess it was Sasuke's head that was leaning up against the back of his neck.

'That's right.' The blonde thought, 'I am covered in my blanket still.'

Pushing Sasuke away and making the Ravens eye widen due to Naruto's sudden movement. The first thought that came to Sasuke was that Naruto was rejecting his comfort and that we went too far but that thought was soon brushed aside when Naruto unwrapped the blanket around himself and placed it over both of them.

"Hmp." Sasuke purred before he went back to his position, cuddling up against Naruto's back, only this time, Naruto was basically radiating warmth from his body since there was no thick blanket between their bodies. Rubbing and inserting his head on the back of the Blondes neck, he inhaled and received a sweet scent of orange or tangerine from his hair which was sweet but not too sweet. It was just satisfying enough to inhale deeper and be memorized by the warmth and intoxicating smell. Who knew he would be so happy with the blonde. All his life he figured he would just be alone since girls didn't seem to catch his attention nor was he attracted to anyone. Some would say he was just satisfied enough with his right hand and would never need anyone to make him satisfied…that is until he ran into the Blonde one day after school in eighth grade and saw him playing a one on one basketball game with Kiba. It wasn't a big deal after school when guys would take off their shirts when playing sports which Sasuke thanked God for. He sat off the sideline and watched the two play basketball. It entertained Sasuke that the boys that they their own rules of the game where they actually accepted tripping, smacking and cusswords exchanged but no teachers were around to say otherwise. Kiba and Naruto; the pair were always known to do what they want and were both stubborn which got them detention more than once a month. But they were young and trying to find their identity within their peers but it took them the hard way to find it together. The highlight of this moment was when Sasuke was self-aware that he wasn't paying attention to how they were playing anymore but by Naruto's body. His body was glassy with sweat and his movements sent his muscles to thicken beneath his skin. He wasn't skinny but he wasn't overweight in any way. Probably just perfect for someone his age who was ripping with testosterone Sasuke thought. From that day, Sasuke tried to catch every detail of the Blonde as often as he could in class and in sports. He never went as far as to follow him after school because that would just be creepy.

But now here he was, lying on the floor curled up with said blonde whose smell numbed Sasuke's thoughts from the world and only focused his attention to the warm body he was embracing. Knowing his parents, if they ever found out that he was interested in Naruto instead of some female, he was sure he would be shunned, kicked out and no longer considered an Uchiha. For now, he was just going to accept the small token he had received. It may have started out as an accident on one drunken night after a basketball game but it was the best accident he had ever had.

Naruto on the other hand, was trying not to be too distracted by the warm that was embracing him. He had never cuddled…well spooned unless you counted pillows and blankets.

It felt, nice.

Finally feeling another skin against yours, even if it was between thin clothing but it was enough to sense the other's presence and send Naruto into another world. He felt Sasuke's heavy breathing on the back of his neck, sending shivers down his spine as Sasuke tighten his grasp on him.

"Sasuke?"

"Mmmhmm?"

"Nevermind."

"Just go to sleep Naruto. You had a long and hard day. I promise that in the morning, you will be feeling better."

A promise never felt so sweet to Naruto nor had going to bed felt so comforting. His eyes started drifting as he felt small strokes going up and down his arm, comforting him and relaxing his body. Moring might not be as good as Sasuke had made it sound because that would mean this night would be at its end and the last thing Naruto wanted was to wake up alone again. But at least he wasn't going to bed alone.

* * *

As he predicted last night, he woke up to the sun shining through his window as the spot beside him was all but empty and cold. Shifting under the blanket to roll back over to sleep some more, a piece of paper with writing had been placed in the floor next to his blanket. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he reached for the paper and saw it was a hand written note.

_Morning Dobe, _

Eat breakfast and go for a walk. It will help.

-Sasuke

'The idiot' Naruto thought to himself. 'already telling me what to do.' He had to chuckle to himself. After stretching and cracking his bones, Naruto stood up and walked to his closet to pick out his usual attire that he wore on the weekends; ripped blue jeans and a black shirt with an orange swirl on the front. It wasn't stylish or anything but it was cool sitting on the rack at a discount store. Five dollars was worth, what Naruto considered, to be a piece of art. Changing, he made his way out to the kitchen and saw another note on the counter.

"P.S. Here's a few dollars. Go out and get breakfast somewhere since you only have Ramen."

Why in the world did Sasuke leave him money? It was nice enough with his visit last night and leaving a note but money? Now Naruto felt like Sasuke felt sorry for him and took pity. But his stomach was disagreeing with him as it rumbled loudly, causing Naruto to twitch in pain. Now he could say he knew how some of the starving kids around the world felt but he knew he was much more lucky than some of them. Some don't have choices with what they eat while restaurants of every culture and every price flooded city across the country. Yeap, he was lucky to be alive and well.

* * *

It was not easy for Sasuke to climb up onto the second story roof to reach his window early that morning. Not to mention the noise he created but he was glad his parents were deep sleepers and their bedroom was on the opposite side of the house. The only person he didn't want to wake up was his brother Itachi.

Successfully making it to the roof and outside his window, he gently and quietly opened it up and climbed back into his warm room. It felt a little odd being back in his room. His computer desk held his computer and small devices like his camera and ipod while his bed was large and plush with layers of blankets and cushions. His TV was setting on top of his entertainment center along with a DVD and a Blu-ray player with shelves upon shelves of movies he had bought or been given. His PS3 sat on top of his Blu-Ray player and an X-Box 360 just to the right which he would play online with some random people he meet through the sites he browsed. But all his materials and the warmth of the room felt strangely uncomfortable. Almost wrong that he had all the materials of the world at his disposal and even able to go downstairs to a refrigerator full of food and drinks and if there was something he wanted that they didn't have, he could easily get it. Suddenly, life seemed too easy.

Sasuke was too much in a daze and tired after a long struggle up the vine fence up onto the roof that he didn't even notice the figure leaning along his bathroom door frame.

"Sasuke. Where were you."

It wasn't a question; it was more of a statement that said, 'I know you snuck you.'

It startled him as he looked around the room and saw the figure where the voice had come from.

"Like it's any of your business."

Good older brother Itachi. Mom and dad's old favorite child.

"I know you were out with the Uzumaki kid."

Stunned that his brother knew, Sasuke glared at his brother before lifting up his bed sheets to slip into.

"Why are you even here? Don't you have your own apartment and a child to take care of?"

An evil chuckle caused a still in the air. Itachi was always a creep, being in the dark room only made the situation worse.

"Mom asked me to visit today with little Aiko anyways. She's is your niece as well, thought you would like to see her since she is five years old now. She can even say your name properly now. It's cute when she say's 'uncle Sasu' when I point at a picture of you."

It had been a while since he had seen his niece and after five tears, his mom and dad had opened up to Itachi's little girl and accepted her as an Uchiha, since she did inherit the Uchiha eyes and the pouty face that Sasuke use to do when he was little.

"If you have nothing else to say, then leave."

"Demanding as ever huh Sasuke? I hope you know I can easily let mom and dad know that you slipped out tonight but I won't…since I am such a good brother."

"You're not a good brother. The only reason you won't tell mom and dad is because you are afraid of dad hurting me again."

It had been a couple of days since the last abuse but the bruised was still there and luckily, Naruto didn't even notice.

"Your right, I get tired of dad hurting you. Because I do care about you."

"Yeah, whatever. If you cared about me so much, why did you leave?"

"You know as much as I do that dad kicked me out after hearing about Aiko."

"Then why didn't you listen to me when I asked you to take me with you?"

There was a small hint of pain in Sasuke voice when he said that last sentence. After his parents had argued with Itachi and kicked him out, Sasuke begged Itachi to take him as well and for him to live with him. The only reason Sasuke got from Itachi about why he couldn't take him was that he needed to get on his own feet first. He needed to get a stable job since he lost the one under his dad and get life straightened out since he had a child to take care of. Adding Sasuke would be more of a hassle since he was moving to an apartment across town and further from the school which meant he had to have Sasuke ride his bike or he had to drive him. But the thought of asking his brother to babysit while he was at work was tempting until he tried to image Sasuke handling a newborn who needed a diaper change. A thirteen year old Sasuke would not do well with little Aiko and she didn't deserve it either. It was just safe for both of them until they both got older.

Silently, Itachi moved from the doorframe and made his way to Sasuke's bed, sitting on the edge looking down at Sasuke's glazed eyes. He always loved his younger brother but acted like he didn't, only to strengthen his brother for his father's abuse later. He combed through his little brothers thick jet black hair and smiled as his brother's anger disintegrated. It was too late at night to argue or be mad. After all, it was almost six in the morning.

"So how's your blonde boyfriend?"

"What? How do you fucking know!"

Itachi just giggled and continued to comb through his hair.

"Word on the web gets around fast. Glad this is just on facebook and not on NBC News or something. Dad would hear about it and probably disown you more than he did me since you would have no choice but to say you're into guys."

Sasuke pushed his brother's hand away from his head after his last statement.

"I'm not into guys Itachi." He said as a matter of factly.

"Oh? Than Naruto is not a guy?"

They both laughed a bit at that statement. They knew he was a guy but they both knew what Sasuke mean.

"Don't worry Sasuke, I know what you mean. For you to actually go out of your way for someone like that surprises me. I thought you were going to be alone the rest of your life or dad would have had an arranged marriage eventually. Actually, he still might do that if you don't come out about your relationship with Naruto. But that's another conversation we can discuss some other time. For now, you need to sleep."

For an older brother in his mid-twenties and a brother who was eighteen, they were close but never showed it to other people. With a last rustling of Sasuke's hair and a smack to his hand to warn him that Sasuke hated his hair being messed up, Itachi headed to the door in silence. Once he reached the door, he turned around to see Sasuke lying on his side with his blankets up to his chin. He really did love his younger brother.

"Oh, by the way Sasuke, you are babysitting Aiko tomorrow while mom and dad are at your high school. Don't worry, I will be with you and we will be going out somewhere since it is supposed to warm up and be sunny. I figured your dark heart needs some light…or maybe that's what Naruto's there for."

Before leaving the room, he heard Sasuke call out 'bastard' before he closed the door silently and smiled as he was glad Sasuke was his old self.

Back in the room, Sasuke shifted to look out his window across the room and saw the moonlight shine through. Tonight confirmed that his brother really did not change and thanked whoever was working their Godly powers that he had the best brother and also a boyfriend. He could finally sleep that morning with a smirk and a satisfied and content look.

* * *

Writers notes (IMPORTANT):

I am a part of a website of Yaoi artwork and literature which you have to be 18 or older to join of course. I am not a huge Yaoi fan, I can only handle SasuNaru NaruSasu stuff but nothing else. But I got news from a writer on the website, encouraging anyone who posts literature on FF to take off all their smut. Why you may ask? Well I will tell you why. The "mature" filter will sort out the literature for you but it won't stop underage to filter and read mature content. Because of this, a literature writer on the website had to go up against court because she was justifying Yaoi in a thesis paper she wrote. To say the least, the US considers anything written with underage character's engaging in sexual activity or if the content is available easily for underage kids, we, as the writer, can get 5+ years in jail. It was enough to wake us all up that one of the writers we know went up against this and lost but she is still holding her case still. So if you see some authors take down smut or see a change in uploads, that is why. This means a lot of websites I know can easily be found and taken down because of 13-17 year old Naruto and Sasuke Doijinshi's and Fan Fictions on them with Mature tags. Sure, I don't like to see a 13 year old Sasuke going at it with a 13 year old Naruto but come on, we are adults. Well, at least I hope everyone who reads this is adult or close to adult age since this is a mature story. Well, might be changed to teen later since I am thinking about taking out my smut in the future. Sad news I know. What do you all think?


	6. Chapter 6: A day at the Zoo

Ending of Chapter 5 recap:

"Oh, by the way Sasuke, you are babysitting Aiko tomorrow while mom and dad are at your high school. Don't worry, I will be with you and we will be going out somewhere since it is supposed to warm up and be sunny. I figured your dark heart needs some light…or maybe that's what Naruto's there for."

Before leaving the room, he heard Sasuke call out 'bastard' before he closed the door silently and smiled as he was glad Sasuke was his old self.

Back in the room, Sasuke shifted to look out his window across the room and saw the moonlight shine through. Tonight confirmed that his brother really did not change and thanked whoever was working their Godly powers that he had the best brother and also a boyfriend. He could finally sleep that morning with a smirk and a satisfied and content look.

* * *

**It was just a prank **

Chapter 6: Day at the zoo

Friday was sunny and warm, a day that was perfect for a teacher-parent conference and great for friends to hang out. Naruto had woken up and went out to get himself some breakfast and then on his way home, stopped by Kiba's to apologize for ignoring him when he had visited him the night before.

"Dude, fuck. You had me worried! I was thinking you were going to do something stupid to yourself." Kiba mumbled as he fell back on his bed, Naruto sat in his computer chair near the window. Naruto's visit was a little bit unexpected but it was finally nice to hear back from him in Kiba's mind. The brunette spent all night worrying and talking to Hinata about how worried he was.

"I did do something stupid Kiba! I didn't eat dinner! I was so hungry when I woke up this morning! Sasuke had left some money on my." Naruto was cut off by a laugh.

"Whoa! Wait! Haha! Sasuke gave you money?! Fuck, what did you let him do to you last night! Fuck I knew you two were dating but to…"

"Not like that Kiba! God you're such a dick sometimes!" Naruto grabbed one of Akamaru's dog toys on the floor next to Naruto's feet and threw it across the room at Kiba's head, only to be caught.

"Yeah, and you apparently like dicks since I am a dick friend and Sasuke has one."

"Gahh Kiba! Stop it!" Naruto held his hands up to his ears, pretending he couldn't hear whatever Kiba had to add. Silence fell upon the room and both boys' minds were turning and thinking of different questions they had. The brunette had been the first to say anything after Naruto has willfully lowered his hands from his ears, still glaring at Kiba.

"Naruto?"

"Whatever it is, it better not be a stupid question."

Kiba started swaying his feet over the edge of his bed, using his hands as a pillow and looked right up at the ceiling.

"Well, I was going to ask, do you really care about Sasuke?"

Naruto turned away, looking out the window. Kiba's room was on the second story of their house and he watched as Kiba's sister started to walk some of the dogs down the street. When Naruto had arrived, Kiba's mother had left to attend his school and asked for both of her children to do some chores since Kiba had the day off from school and his older sister wasn't working today. Kiba felt the uneasiness of the question he had just asked and noticed Naruto was deep in thought. It's not like it was his business but this was supposed to be a prank and he really didn't want things to get any worse than they already were. Not to mention if Sasuke's parents found out. I guess it didn't matter to him at this point because Naruto and Sasuke would find out it was a joke before their parents and they would probably kill all who were originally involved, which included himself. Fuck, now that Kiba thought about it, Neji and Gaara have been hanging out more and more since the joke. They never took it as far as Naruto and Sasuke had gone at school like sitting at the lunch table but they were talking more as they passed by in the hallway and after school let out.

"Yeah."

Kiba stirred out of his thoughts and completely forgot what he asked Naruto.

"What?"

A pink blush fell across the blonde's cheeks and leaned his head against the wall as he kept his eyes out the window.

"Yeah. I do care about Sasuke."

Sitting up, Kiba's face has a large grin and huffed a bit, looking down at his own hands and realizing it had been a while since he had cuddled with his girlfriend Hinata. His body was starting to feel cold and alone. Maybe what he felt for Hinata was the same that Naruto felt for Sasuke and this joke was actually doing something good for both of them. He knew they both were thick headed and stubborn and would have probably never told each other how they felt. Fuck, they probably still haven't talked about it yet. It hadn't been a week and they had only ate lunch together twice and talked a little bit after school but other than that, they haven't really been together. This feeling must have been building over time. Kiba smiled as he realized that Neji and Gaara probably saw this invisible attraction the Blonde and the Raven had for each other and was the reason for the prank in the first place. He never imagined they would be matchmakers.

"So Sasuke was at your house last night?"

Naruto nodded slightly, his eyes hazily keeping open.

"So you answered the door for him but not me."

A smile formed across the blondes face as he remembered how he knew when Kiba was banging on his door in comparison to Sasuke's. Though, he didn't know it has been Sasuke until he opened the door but he was glad he did got up for that one.

"You're a bastard you know that? You should have at least answered my texts or calls if you didn't want to get up from your bed."

The smile never faded because his mind was on the raven. He remembered the strong warm arms wrapping and pushing him closer and his breathing, heavy and consistent, on his neck. Even the thought caused a shiver up his spine as he relaxed and felt completely at ease with the idea of being back in Sasuke's arms again.

"You going to tell me what happened last night then? That smile of yours hasn't faded for a couple minutes."

Shaking his head, Naruto looked back at Kiba. It wasn't an angry look or an "in love" but rather, a content look mixed with sleep deprivation. Patting the bed next to him, Kiba welcomed Naruto to crash beside him and the Blonde took it as a welcoming opportunity and quickly fell onto the bed, head first and his feet dangling off the end of the bed. Fingers found their way to his hair as he could tell Kiba was only trying to show he cared but petting his head like he would do to Akamaru only caused Naruto to slap his hand away.

"You don't have to tell me anything…I understand."

Naruto smiled into the bed and grabbed a pillow to rest his head on. He was glad he had Kiba around as a friend.

* * *

"Uncle S'ke!" Aiko yelled as she barged into Sasuke's room, making her way to his bed. He wasn't expecting the surprise jump she made up onto his bed and crawled up to him.

"Uncle S'ke! Daddy say's it's time to get up! Up up!" she yelled as she lifted her tiny hands up above her head, spreading them out to emphasized the words 'up up'. Unimpressed with his niece, he just laid there in bed, pulling the covers over his head to pretend she wasn't even there. Oh but a daughter of Itachi's wasn't going to accept this, not at all. She pouted as she realized her uncle wasn't moving as she announced it was time to get up. Clasping her hands onto her tiny hip and standing on her knees right off to Sasuke's left, she ended up with an idea that would surly get her uncle's attention. She crawled to the edge of the bed and jumped down and took off down the hall out of his room. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as he knew he wasn't going to be able to go back to bed but he didn't mind just laying for at least five more minutes in his warm bed before he had to get up. After all, he was babysitting, the last thing he really wanted to do. His mind was on the brink of sleep until he felt something wet soak through the blanket. Jumping up from under the covers and sitting up, he felt more water being splashed on his face, shoulder and chest. It was his niece. She had run to grab a water gun and thought it would be fun to squirt him with it to get him out of bed. She continued to squirt him and giggle as Sasuke was using his harms to block the water from hitting his face.

"ITACHI!" Sasuke yelled as he pulled his feet over the edge of the bed and stood up. Before he knew it, his innocent niece was running and laughing, stopping ten feet before turning and shooting Sasuke again as he started to walk towards her.

"Aiko! Stop it! Stop!"

She couldn't help but keep getting her uncle wet some more and laugh. She will teach him what an Uchiha is! She darted out of his room as Sasuke went to grab the gun and missed.

Making breakfast, Itachi heard Sasuke yell his name and then some thumping upstairs erupted from one side of the house to the other and eventually he saw his little girl running down the stairs, happy as could be holding her squirt gun and practically skipping as she went into the kitchen.

"I see that worked. So uncle Sasuke is awake?"

She giggled more and pushed her small body over and up on a stool, adjusted herself and watched as her father made eggs and the smell of bacon being cooked as well.

"Yes daddy! I think he wet himself and gone to change his clothes." A small giggle kept sounding in the air and Itachi laughed to himself. He would hear it soon but it really was time to get up.

"The fuck brother!?" Sasuke yelled as he stomped down the stairs, pulling a new shirt over his torso.

"Sasuke! You know better than to use that word in front of your precious niece."

"Whatever." He snorted at the thought of his niece being precious…she was always so hyper and always running around. There were times Sasuke wish he could just shove her in a dog cage and keep her there. Actually that wouldn't work. He could just image his niece barking, pretending to be a dog and annoy the crap out of him more. Pulling out a stool to the island in the kitchen next to his niece, he saw that his brother was making breakfast. The pancake mix mess in the blender had hinted that he had already made pancakes and was in the middle of eggs and bacon based on the aroma. He was pulled away when he felt small hands push his hands off the table and Aiko squeezed herself between Sasuke's body and the counter, sitting on his lap. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He wasn't one to give any physical attention to or even show much happiness (except the blonde) but he did admit that his niece was cute when she was not off being the roadrunner and being loud.

"I'm making breakfast. After we eat I thought we could go to the zoo or the park."

"ZOO!" Aiko yelled, jumping and hitting her head under Sasuke's chin, causing him to flinch at the yelling and the bump. It didn't hurt her at all and she kept yelling. "I want to see the horse-es and dolo-fins and the lions!" Wiggling her way out of Sasuke's lap as she did getting on, she reached the floor, only to run to Itachi's leg and started to attack it. "Rawr! I am a lion! Grrr!" Itachi just laughed as his daughter kept hitting her head on his leg, trying to act like an animal.

Sasuke just laughed inside. He deserved it and if she was just this excited; wait till they actually go to the zoo.

"Alright. Foods done! Sasuke, help me set up the table."

* * *

"Wow! I didn't know Sasuke was such a charmer or even affectionate."

"Yeah, who knew he would open up so much…especially to you of all people."

It was around four in the afternoon and Kiba and Naruto had meet up with the rest of their group at a pizza and ice cream parlor in town.

"I know. He was someone else last night but it was really him."

Naruto was playing with his straw in his glass of root beer. He refused to get anything because of his financial situation but the rest of the group pitched in money to pay for Naruto's part of the bill. He was thankful for the friends he did have, especially Gaara because he came from a wealthy family and had more than enough money to feed the whole world for a year. It's wasn't just because he had money to help out Naruto whenever he needed help, it was how Gaara acted that made Naruto like him a lot. Most rich families would wear really nice clothing and had expensive school supplies but Gaara was just, Gaara. His clothing were one's that you would find at any store that sold clothing at cheap pricing and even woke off brand shoes and sandals. He was just like every other teen out there in the world and he even acted like one…well as much of a kid he was.

"He acts different around you." Neji explained, leaning back in his seat, folding his arms.

"What, when did you get here? And who invited you?!" Naruto shot out which earned a smack to the back of his head by Kiba.

"He arrived five minutes ago while you were off in your own dream world!"

"And I invited him." A calm and collected Gaara added. Wiping the back of his head to straighten out his messy hair and to caress the spot he was hit at, he show a puppy face look at Kiba.

"Will you elaborate cousin?" shy and quiet Hinata asked.

"From what Naruto explained," Gaara answered for Neji.

"You mean Kiba?" Naruto grumbled.

It was true. As soon as the whole group was gathered, Kiba went on and explained the story that Naruto had explained to him just a couple hours before hand. All the Blonde could do was blush and hide his face behind his hands and just wish he was somewhere else but when Kiba was done explaining, he didn't get the response he thought he would. He at least figured more laughs and teasing about Sasuke leaving money for him in the morning. Kiba had teased him, asking him what he had done to get the money while they were in bed.

"Yes. From what Kiba explained, it sounds like he trusts you a lot."

"He doesn't even tell me anything Naruto." Neji had went on, "when his brother had left the house, Sasuke took it hard and he never explained to me what happened. I had to find out through my father who is friends with his father. I had to find out the long way that Sasuke was upset because his brother was having a baby and his parents were kicking him out and disowning his brother…placing all their hope they had for his older brother onto him. I was his friend for all these years and he never tells me anything that upsets him. I didn't even know about the college issue you explained."

Naruto felt flushed, turning red with embarrassment that he had been given more information than one of Sasuke's oldest friends, Neji, and what Naruto found out wasn't even a lot.

Neji leaned forward, taking a sip from his water and went on with more talking,

"Sasuke is full of secrets that I can't even figure out myself. He hides his true self just to his parents will be happy with him. I bet he would kill an entire village if it meant for a pat on the back from his dad. He may not show it but he does care about pleasing his parents and getting his brothers attention more than anything."

"So how do I play in all of this?" Naruto questioned.

"Honestly, I can take a guess but it may or may not be right."

"Even heroes need to love." Shikamaru added, waking up from a nap he was having, lifting his head from the table. "If you think about it, if you are given so much love and attention, where is it stored? It is stored inside of you and eventually you want to share that love. It's human nature to love and to love. It's probably just Sasuke letting loose and giving some love to someone he cares about."

"But how can he care about me? We never even hung out before now. Sure we go to school together and are in some classes and sports teams but that's it."

"He's always watched you Naruto, whether you noticed it or not. He's been watching you since we came to high school. He would deny it but I noticed when we were in speech class together and he picked a seat in the back just so he could watch you from behind. When you talked in class, he was paying attention, more attention than he did when the teacher spoke. A couple times I asked him about it and he just said it was because you were doing something stupid."

"Wow, well that's just creepy to think about." Kiba said, "He sounds like a stalker if you ask me."

"No more of a stalker than what Hinata was." Shikamaru added, stretching while he yawned. "Everyone knew Hinata had a thing for Naruto and followed him everywhere until she finally expressed her feelings and found out that he didn't like her."

"I guess." Kiba leaned back in his chair, looking at Hinata. No one would think of Hinata as a stalker, just someone that admired him a lot.

"All I am trying to say, I actually know that Sasuke's mom had been diagnosed with brain metastasis and it is playing a big part in his life."

Everyone's eyes shot wide open at the news.

"Ahh, what?"

Only Naruto would ask such a question.

"It's brain cancer basically…the deadly kind." Shikamaru sighed. "This is getting more complicated than before."

Neji nodded at what the lazy kid had said. "They found out after her seizure attack a year ago. While she was in the kitchen one morning, getting ready for work, she had a tonic-clonic seizure and the only one home at the time was Sasuke who was eating his breakfast at the table. It was a rare case where someone had such an extreme seizure from a tumor but when they did blood work and some more tests when she was in the hospital and they found out she may have an epilepsy. No one knows how this brought anything up or if they are even related but if she didn't have that seizure, they wouldn't have found the tumor so either way, it was a good and a bad thing."

None of them knew what to say. Of course Neji would know this but only because of his father.

"I'm surprised that wasn't in the news." Gaara added. "Since they are a well-known and wealthy family, you would think it was all over the news."

"Sasuke's father went straight to the news station and newspapers after the incident. He simply asked that this be kept quiet from the media and even went about to pay money to get a false story to cover up his wife's visit to the hospital. Most people know it as just a simple lightheaded and dizzy spell. That wasn't large enough to make the news."

"So what's happening now?" Kiba asked, leaning forward like as if he was watching an action packed movie, almost knocking over his drink but was caught by Shikamaru.

"Well like I said, Sasuke doesn't talk to me about anything. I had to find out through family to know what happened. All I got was that Sasuke missed a week of school after that so I guess he just had a small traumatic experience and didn't want to leave the house in his state. He came back to school and acted like nothing happened but I am sure it hurt him, watching his mom fall and knowing he couldn't do anything while she was having the seizure."

The parlor seemed quiet all of a sudden, each one thinking about what had happened so Sasuke in the past. They really didn't know anything about Sasuke at all.

"It clears up when he said he wanted to attend a close college because of his mom. I was wondering why." Naruto couldn't wait until Sasuke visited him again; he had so many questions he wanted answered. Not only did he want answers but he just wanted to hug him, to let him know everything was going to be alright.

* * *

"Look! A monkey!" Aiko yelled as she sat on Sasuke's shoulders, leaning over his head while pointing at a spider money climbing around on the branches. Sasuke didn't know why he gave into his niece when she cried to be on Sasuke's shoulder. He refused at first, but when he looked down at her large dark chibi eyes, he couldn't say no and let her eyes keep watering from emotional pain. Itachi came up beside them, just a couple inches taller than Sasuke, and he patted his daughters head.

"Good! More specifically, its scientific name is called the Ateles Fusciceps which is a Black-Headed Spider Monkey."

Aiko giggled some more as she watched the money dart from branch to branch, grabbing pieces of twigs to stick in its mouth only to toss it.

"You're becoming a zoologist now, Itachi?" Sasuke asked, turning to head down some more caged animals down a warm, shady, forest bound section of the zoo.

"Actually no. I read it just now off the information plaque in front of the cage."

Sasuke couldn't help hold in his sneer as his niece wrapped her hands around his head, flattening his raven hair to the back of his head, which felt uncomfortable by the way.

"And here I thought you were the smartest man in the world."

"I was smart…I read the plaque to get information. Life's not about getting the best grades or even getting honors, Sasuke." Sasuke continued to walk and stopped at an opening of a field with a Plexiglas as a barrier between them and a pack of lions. "Life's about living in a way that you won't regret and be happy. To protect those you love."

"I never knew you were a philosopher as well. What's next? You're going to join NASA and fly in outer space to do experiments on other planets?"

Itachi just laughed at that statement. "No. it's what life's about." Looking out at the pack of lions, he saw a few cubs playing out in the field. "Ya know. Even animals don't worry about who's the smartest. They don't test each other to see who's smarter or even the dumbest."

"Yeah, that's because the dumb ones get killed first."

"Ahh, I see your think about the survival of the fittest theory by Darwin. Actually, rats have proven that theory wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Studies have been done and it's been scientific proof that rats won't eat food if one of their own members is in pain. Like so with lions, they will take turns as lionesses to watch the cubs. The mothers will put full trust in each other and would sacrifice their life if it meant to save one of the cubs. Even when a mother would lose its cub, the mother will lick the cub's dead body as a way to mourn. Even the dumbest of animals can find what life is really about…and I can say it's not about success or money or being the smartest."

"You know I hate father."

"But you act the opposite Sasuke. You're pretending to be someone you're not. Not that I can blame you. What he does to you is unfair and I have every right to tell authorities. The only reason I haven't is because of mom. If she knew about the abuse, I am sure she will get worse. Taking father away from mother is not what is best for her emotional health. She lost me and that was a lot on her but taking father away and you leaving for college, I think she would be placed in a mental hospital or somewhere else."

"So the abuse is passed on to me."

"You know Sasuke, I hate this situation as well. I hate seeing the bruises on you but I am as lost as you are about this. It's either your health or moms. Mom's older and more vulnerable and weak but you don't deserve this."

"Then why don't you take mom in if it ever comes down to it?"

Itachi sighed, noticing his daughter was on the edge of falling asleep right on Sasuke's head. He led them over to a bench and motioned for Sasuke to sit down. Carefully sitting and not wanting to bother his niece on his head, he sat down, looking down at his shoes and kicking rocks around.

"Sasuke, I wish I had all the answers. I really do but I don't. There's the company that is being ran by dad and if he were to be stripped from his position, who would take up the title? I don't think I could. It's a lot to handle and I have a daughter I want to be with. If I were to take it, it would mean less time with her. Next, you are going to college in a few months and I am sure you wouldn't be ready to run an entire company only being nineteen by that time."

Sasuke kicked some more rocks, not knowing any answers either but he wanted something to change and he wanted it soon.

"I will say this though. I hope one day you will smile, not just because you have to but because you're always happy. Which is why I feel you picked the right boyfriend."

There were contentment in his voice that Sasuke liked to hear, the same voice from when he was young and Itachi was just a couple doors down the hall at home.

"Only problem there…Naruto's a guy. I am sure mom and did will throw a fit knowing their second best prodigy son is into men and can't make grandchildren to bear the Uchiha name."

Itachi laughed a bit at that thought. It was true, which meant if Sasuke were to get more involved with the Blonde and possible stay with him forever, he wouldn't have kids…well Uchiha blood kids. It's all up to him but he was happy with the daughter he already has and is not interested in finding a new partner to get involved with yet.

"Like I said, I want you to be happy. Mom and dad will get upset but once you leave the house, it won't matter. You will have to think for yourself and find what in life will make you live day to day and possibly make you smile right before you lay your head down on the pillow. That last part is hard to imagine but I honestly hope it will happen. You deserve that much little brother." And with that Itachi ended his sentence as he poked Sasuke's forehead like he had always done when he was young. Sasuke was a bit taken back by the action of Itachi but smiled as the past memories flooded back. "I trust you will know what to say when the time comes but for now, we need to head back home for Aiko's nap. I think I might need one too after this walk and all this fresh air."

Itachi rose to his feet and stood in front of Sasuke, carefully grabbing Aiko from under her arms and lifting her up into his chest, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. She muttered a couple words when she woke up from the movement and fell back to sleep.

"Did you hear what she said Sasuke?" Itachi smiled as he turned at him.

"No."

"She said she loves you."

* * *

Authors comment:

Whoa…what a long day but it was BEAUTIFUL! The sun was out and it was so warm and nice! I am glad I only had one class today and that my work meeting was canceled. I spent it sleeping this afternoon and eating Chinese and Burger King.

On another note: I did get a review from someone saying Sasuke's turning OC. :D Yeah…he is but his life is different than in the show so his attitude is different as well. I'm still trying to keep the old Sasuke but also something new.

Also, I remember reading my first SasuNaru fanfic story. It was about Sasuke cheating on Naruto and Naruto packs up and leaves Sasuke. He tries his hardest to get Naruto back but the other guy he was cheating on (Gaara) kept coming back and screwing up every chance he had to get Naruto back. I felt a lot of grief for Naruto and that story has always been my first and favorite story. It's only on Y! Gallery (yaoi) so if you have it, I can send you the link to her amazing story but I don't think she has it on .

So the question is, what was your first FF story?


	7. Chapter 7: Projects

**AUTHORS NOTE**: Sorry guys for the LOONG update! I had final projects and exams to take care of first and now I am done with my 4th year of college! I just have a semester left and I graduate in December with a bachelor's degree. As an apology, I am making this a longer chapter. HOPE YOU LIKE! I think this is also my first chapter where I wrote fluff.

* * *

**Story Summary:** Neji and Gaara come up with a big prank, a prank that ends up with a naked and hungover Sasuke and Naruto in the same bed with no memories of the night before. The prank gets worse over time. SasuNaru AU-High School

* * *

Ending of Chapter 6 recap:

Sasuke was a bit taken back by the action of Itachi but smiled as the past memories flooded back. "I trust you will know what to say when the time comes but for now, we need to head back home for Aiko's nap. I think I might need one too after this walk and all this fresh air."

Itachi rose to his feet and stood in front of Sasuke, carefully grabbing Aiko from under her arms and lifting her up into his chest, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. She muttered a couple words when she woke up from the movement and fell back to sleep.

"Did you hear what she said Sasuke?" Itachi smiled as he turned at him.

"No."

"She said she loves you."

* * *

**It was just a prank **

Chapter 7: Projects

"Well Sasuke, looks like mom and dad are home." Itachi stated as he pulled up to their, larger than needed, home. Sasuke couldn't hold back a growl he had stored up when he turned down onto their road. "I won't be there very long just so you know. I will go in to say bye to mom and dad but I need to get Aiko home. She's going to want to eat when she wakes up from the nap."

Sasuke didn't expect anything less or more from his brother. Actually, he wished his brother was around because he did, on occasion, protect him and defend him when his father was being too harsh on him.

"Yeah." He sighed, opening the door and exiting from the car. He slammed the door shut and locked his hands into his pockets and waited for Itachi to exit the car as well.

Both boys entered into the house only to find both their mother and father sitting at the dining room table. By the looks on their faces, they were ready to talk and get down to how they felt after today's conference. Their mother carried a concern look while their father had his arms crossed, not even looking up as they entered into the dining room. Itachi had given his farewells and within five minutes, he was out and on his way home, leaving Sasuke standing across from the table.

"Sit." His father demanded in a dry husky voice.

Taking a seat across form his parents, he saw his grade report sitting on the table before them. It was what he expected, all A's and a 4.0 GPA. 'So what could be the problem?' Sasuke thought.

"Your grades are perfect as we expected. All your teachers said you did exceptionally well on all your mid-terms and you go beyond what is expected to help other students." His father said, not turning a gaze towards his son. The young Uchiha could catch no excitement in his voice but he caught a bit of a disappointment. What had he done wrong?

"But."

'But what?' Sasuke thought. 'I turned in all my projects and homework, help fellow students and I even correct the teachers sometimes.'

"We had heard that you had been involved in a school fight during lunch yesterday. Care to explain?"

Sasuke was struggling to explain as the last three words that escaped his father's mouth was all but daring to try his patience. Why would they have even brought that up to his parents when he wasn't even called to the office for explaining the situation? He wasn't really involved, he just intervened.

"Sasuke?"

"I wasn't involved, father. I just intervened in the situation." He tried his hardest to sound as confident as he could when facing his father. The last thing he wanted to show was fear because that only made his father upset more than what he already was.

"Was the situation about you?"

"No."

"Then why did you intervene? You know I taught you not to get involved in fights unless you are defending the Uchiha name or your pride as an Uchiha."

"It was pride father, I was defending my…"

The raven stopped before he had said 'boyfriend', knowing full well that the situation would turn into more than an innocent parent-child talk. The last thing Sasuke wanted was to be called into his father's office…alone. The curiosity from his mother's face and unsatisfactory on his father's made him struggle for his next words.

"I was…defending a friend. There was a small fight between some friends of mine and I just told them to stop."

Fugaku took a quick glance at his wife before sighing.

"Well, I guess. You didn't get in trouble, we were just told by the school about your actions yesterday. As long as you stay out of fights in the future unless it's necessary." His father's chair scooted back as he stood up from his spot, never looking at Sasuke or his wife. "We are done here Sasuke."

'Well, that wasn't so bad.' The raven thought to himself. He was glad he got away with the fight incident but his father also looked tired and a little flushed; he probably didn't want to bother fighting or arguing and just let it settle. His mother took a deep sigh herself and moved to stand up but practically fell back down in her chair. Sasuke moved immediately next to his mother's side, helping her stand up.

"Oh, thank you Sasuke. I've been very exhausted recently. The therapies are very straining and it takes a lot just to do everyday chores these days."

Sasuke's face went sour at the tone of his mother voice. She had been exhausted a lot since she started going in for therapy for her cancer. Of all places, it had to be in the brain, the most sensitive and deadly places to have cancer because one cannot have surgery to cut the caner out. People can live with one kidney and have transplant for other organs but brains, they are not replaceable.

"Well mother, Iruka will be here tomorrow to clean. I am sure he won't mind helping you with laundry or cooking."

His mother had finally pushed all her weight on herself and off Sasuke, standing and smiling at her younger son.

"No, it's alright Sasuke." She whispered. "He will be busy cleaning and dusting anyways. Don't want to wear out the young man."

"But I think you deserve rest mother. You're always cooking or cleaning and it tires you out. Why don't we hire a maid to handle your jobs?"

She chuckles and hugged her son who was just a couple inches taller than herself. She smiled and Sasuke felt it on his cheek and it caused him to smile and wrap his arms around her tightly.

"Oh Sasuke dear, what would I do if all I did was sit around and read books and magazines? I am sure I would go insane." She pulled away from him, cupping his cheeks in her hands. "And I am sure you don't want me to go insane now would you?"

Sasuke knew she was right and felt defeated. His mother's only hobby outside of house chores were reading books and taking care of her garden. She loved flowers and planted them, waiting for them to bloom to cut a couple to place on the kitchen counter and in the middle of the dinner table. Yeah, she would probably think too much and probably think herself and worry to death. Maybe cooking and cleaning was a way she felt needed and useful in her life, to her family, and Sasuke was asking her to drop all of that.

His phone started to ring as he stood in the dining room, his mother in the kitchen, pulling pots and pans out. It was around four in the afternoon and she was probably making dinner. Pulling out his phone from his front pocket, he looked at the contact name and saw that it had been Neji.

"What the fuucc….frick is he calling me for?" He caught his language as he saw his mother's glare from the kitchen, before walking into the living den to answer his phone.

"Yeah what do you want Neji?" He snarled. Neji only called when he either needed help with school work or his uncle left the house and he was in charge of watching over the house. It was usually boring when he was helping Neji house sit and he hardly ever needed help with school work. Hell, Neji was next in the class rankings and is probably going to sit next to him during graduation. Probably even give a speech to the graduating class as well.

"Ahh Sasuke?" A timid voice perked Sasuke's hearing into attention. It was Naruto.

"Oh, sorry Naruto. My phone said it was Neji so I assumed…"

Naruto laughed at that comment, stopping Sasuke from speaking any further.

"No worries! Neji is here with us at the pizza parlor and the conversation came up about our class with Kakashi and our group projects. When are we going to get together to work on it?"

Honestly, Sasuke hadn't thought much of the group project since Monday when it was assigned. They hadn't even come up with a topic to research and these projects were due in two weeks. Sasuke took a deep breath, wondering where they would work on the project. Not like there was any argument that his house would be best for research since Naruto didn't own a computer. But Sasuke also didn't want to bring Naruto to his house. The only people who ever came to stay were either Neji or Sakura, and even then, they were very brief visits.

"I guess we can work on it at my house this weekend if you're free. I have no plans."

Even though they were over the phone, Sasuke could sense the dobe's smile widen and his eyes glitter with excitement.

"Really? So when do you want me to come over? Actually, I don't even know where you live!"

"I will ask my parents at dinner. I know my father will be doing work in his office all day tomorrow and my mom will be doing laundry but I am sure that wouldn't interfere with their rituals."

"Great! Awesome! Call Neji or Kiba when you find out to let me know. I will probably be with either."

Neji or Kiba's?

"Wait Naruto, you don't have a phone?"

"Nope! Can't afford one." He said with a ball of energy, like it wasn't even a matter to talk about.

"Well, alright. I will call Neji. What if he's not with you when I call?"

"Like I said, call Kiba."

"Does Neji know Kiba's cell phone number?"

Naruto hesitated and then laughed. "Haha! No…I suppose he wouldn't have his number. But I will be sure to give it to him when we part ways if you haven't called yet." Sasuke heard mumbling in the background and a few laughs busted. "That wasn't funny guys! Geez! Why do I call you my friends? Anyways Sasuke, Kiba said that you can look on his Facebook page and he has his number on there."

"Why do the stalking when Facebook does it for you?" He heard Shikamaru added in the background, which seemed to be closer to Naruto since Sasuke could make it out. He had a point.

"Well anyways! We are about to hit the arcade! Talk to ya later!"

"Alright. Bye Naruto."

"Bye!"

Clapping the cover to the cell phone shut, Sasuke sat in the living room pondering what it would be like to have the ball of energy in his house. His dad would probably get annoyed with Naruto and his mom would probably just smile and laugh. He would defiantly be different than his quiet, dark family. Sasuke didn't complain about the dark hair, large dark eyes and pale skin of his because it only made him look attractive. He knew he got more of his looks from his mother's side but he also recognized a couple of his father's features as well, which made him frown.

'Fuck, I probably frown like him too!'

"Sasuke?" His mother's figure appeared in the living room. "Who was that?"

"Just a friend."

"Alright. Dinner will be ready in about an hour, make sure you're down here around then alright?"

"O.k. mom." He replied, taking off straight for the staircase up to his room.

* * *

Before Naruto had gone to bed that night, he decided to hang with his friends and split up after Sasuke had called Neji's phone. They had figured out that Naruto could visit, starting tomorrow at noon to work on their project together. After they had walked Hinata home and then Gaara and Neji left, Kiba was next to leave and Naruto went home alone. Unlocking his front door and making his way in, he picked up pieces of clothing that he had laying around and started to clean the house up. School didn't leave him much homework to do this weekend so he had plenty of time to fix the house up and at least gather his dirty clothes to do laundry. His hamper was filled to the top with dirty clothes and towels, wondering how long it had been since he cleaned his blankets. Deciding that forgetting when was the last time he cleaned his blankets, he figured it was probably a hint that he should clean them. Before heading out to the laundry-mat they had provided for the apartments, the blonde grabbed his jar of quarters that he stashes in his closet behind some items and grabbed his hamper, swing his bag full of blankets over his shoulder and headed out.

The laundry-mat had around twenty washers and twenty dryers, all which took quarters or a pre-paid card. He had tried one of the cards before but kept losing it and he got tired of losing so much money because if it. Around nine at night, not very many people were doing laundry except Naruto and one other woman who was silently reading a _people's_ magazine. People often just dumped old magazines they had around their apartment or books for others to read while they waited for their clothes to wash and dry. After grabbing a magazine for _Cosmo's_, Naruto was interrupted when Iruka had walked into the room and smiled when he saw the pair of azure eyes meet his.

"Hey Naruto! I'm glad to know you do your laundry every so often!"

"Iruka!" Before the brunette knew it, a flash of yellow and a thud to his chest pushed whatever air was left out of his lungs. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I am just checking up on maintenance around the apartment complex. I check every night to make sure nothing is broken and everything is clean. Someone complained that there were squirrels that were sneaking in here so I am just checking the walls and roof to see if there are any holes."

Of course Iruka would be the one checking up on the complex, since he is one of the people in charge of maintaining and planning the place.

"Sounds like fun! I was just reading a section in the magazine that was talking about 52 ways to get your ex-boyfriend back."

Iruka laughed and rubbed Naruto's messy blonde hair.

"Why? You and Sasuke broke up already?"

"Wha?!" His heart raced and his face blushed when he heard what Iruka had stated. How the hell did he know about them?

"Don't worry Naruto. I know. It's been the talk of the school and I know you two aren't broken up. I am sure you wouldn't be in a positive and joyous attitude right now if that were true." Naruto smirked at the thought of how much Sasuke was changing his life, slowly, but for the better. "Well I have to go! I'll talk to you later Naruto." Iruka waved before exiting the room, taking some of the heated dryer smell outside with him.

* * *

It wasn't as hard as Naruto thought it would be when he went to find Sasuke's house, especially when right there at the front gates were metal letterings that spelled "Uchiha" across the front, almost like they would forget where their own house was. The yard was a couple acres of lush green grass, slightly brown from the winter that had passed but green from the warm weather and rain that had passed by. Winter did not last long, especially with it being February and the snow already gone and warm weather only getting warmer. The house was what Naruto expected…large and custom built. It took Naruto quite a bit of courage to walk past the large black gate's and up to the front door. The house was made up of bricks and on either side of the porch were two thin round dorm rooms with windows peeking into each room and second story windows above. He hadn't expected to see such a nice flower garden up front nor did he expect to see Iruka open the door when Naruto has pressed the doorbell.

"Iruka! What are you doing here!"

"Hi Naruto! I'm just cleaning up the Uchiha's house. This is my other job that I do on Saturdays but come in!"

As soon as Naruto walked into the house, he was stunned. Right before him was the largest living room with tall wide windows that arched at the top, filling the entire room up with light from the noon-high sun. Naruto could see a beautiful flower garden right past the porch in the backyard, overlooking a small dip down a hill and the sight of a small lake was seen through the sparkles and glitter from the sunlight. Above him in the entry way was a small wooden bridge and he was stunned to see Sasuke walk across it and stop to lean over the wooden railing.

"Took you long enough. I almost thought you got lost getting here, dobe."

Naruto could careless about the verbal abuse he was receiving, he was sucked into the house's layout and the charm of it that if Sasuke said that there were an atom bomb falling right on the house, he wouldn't budge.

"Oi! Naruto!" Sasuke yelled who had made his way down the stairs and was now standing a couple feet before him, waving his hand. Naruto had snapped out of his trance was looking at Sasuke, crossed arms and radiant as ever.

"Sorry. I just never had seen a huge house like this before."

All Sasuke could do was place his hands in his pocket and give Naruto a 'follow me' look and headed back towards the stair case, Naruto following behind closely.

"Whoa! I never seen a spiral staircase in a house before! Especially with it being this wide and made of wood!"

"It's just a house Naruto."

"Yeah, but a freaking huge and expensive house!"

At the top if the stairs, Naruto saw a door to his left and quickly took a glance in. An older man with dark hair was sitting at a desk with the computer on and paper covering his mahogany desk. He figured it was just his father and from the looks of it, he was working. Sasuke had mentioned that his father was going to be busy with work in his office today and his mother was off cleaning somewhere.

* * *

"Fuck Sasuke! I can't type as fast as you can! Why don't you type the paper?"

It had been four hours since Naruto had arrived and Sasuke was sprawled across his bed, looking at his books for the class, finding resources that Kakashi had placed as a requirement.

"Gosh, you can be such an idiot." The raven said, rolling off his bed and catching his body on his feet and walked across his room to his computer. "Let me see what all you have done so far."

Sasuke had leaned in close to the computer screen, almost cheek to check with Naruto. The warmth of the Blondes skin radiated, soothing the space between them. Their breaths could be heard from one another and it took a couple of moments for Sasuke to focus back on his computer screen.

A paragraph. That was all Naruto had been able to type in the last two hours.

"That's it? That's all you typed up? You must type five words a minute. You could probably be considered the slower typer in the world, which doesn't surprise me since your brain is slow to process as well."

"Bastard! I don't get on the computer often. It's not like I spend hours on a computer that doesn't exist."

"You're still slow no matter the excuses you come up with." Sasuke smirked, seeing he hit a button and saw Naruto's face turn red and his focus hard.

"Tell me why I am with you again?"

The raven laughed a bit and stood up straight behind Naruto in his chair. Why would he not be with him and why not sooner? Sasuke junior twitched at the thought of where he and Naruto would be in their relationship if they had said something to each other sooner. But no, they both were scared of what the other might think before then and it had to take a drunken night to change all that. But still, even a fully clothed Naruto in his room was better than no Naruto in his room. He was making progress.

"Your creepy when you smile, ya know that? No wonder you don't smile often. Probably would scare all the girls away at school. Not that I mind that is."

A snort aroused from Sasuke as he smiled as he leaned in closer so his cheek brushed against the blonde's scared ones.

"Why? You jealous?"

"N-no!" Naruto started to stutter as he felt Sasuke's face press against his. His warm breath caught as he was examining every detail of Sasuke; smelling his cologne and feeling small trickles of freshly growing facial hair scrape across his own face. Sasuke's breath smelled of mint, his lashes were thick and smooth. His eyes, those dark orbs which sucked in every emotion into another dimension were soft and half lidded. It didn't take long before Naruto had turned his head, brushing his lips lighting against Sasuke's, feeling his own dry lips gently catch a small kiss from the raven. The kiss introduced a new sensation, sending the two into a deep abyss of craving, tasting, feeling more from the other. Their small introduction turned into a deeper, more passionate kiss that left Naruto grasping the black hair and pulling him closer. Spinning the computer chair to its side to slip out of, they never let go of each other's lips and found themselves pushing and pulling each other into Sasuke's bed, throwing the books into the floor and started to ravish each other's lips, fighting for dominance. A small lick left a tail of Sasuke saliva on Naruto's lower lip, granting Sasuke permission and opening his mouth up. It took a second for Sasuke to push his tongue into Naruto's hot cavern, pulling him closer and grinding onto one another. Both boys hum'ed with excitement and eager, thrashing tongue against tongue to satisfy an infinite craving.

"Naruto?" Sasuke moaned when Naruto 's kissing turned into licking down onto his neck.

"Mmm?"

"I think…ahhh…take your shirt off." Naruto found a sensitive spot on the neck where Sasuke gasped again and started to gently bite and then lick, watching a red spot form. Satisfied, he helped Sasuke take his shirt off and then took Sasuke's off. They took off again into a passionate kiss, touching and exploring through touch up and down their bodies, stopping when their belts held their jeans to their waistline. That didn't stop Sasuke from rolling so he was on top, using his right leg to spread Naruto's legs and took the opportunity to grope the growing bulge of the Blondes.

"Ffuuck Sasuke. Mmm." Naruto whispered as he trusted his hips into Sasuke's hand, wishing he wasn't wearing his jeans.

"Naruto."

Sasuke separated the kiss and aimed for the outer ridge of the Blonde's ear and started to kiss and whisper.

"You enjoying yourself?"

"Mmm."

Satisfied that Naruto was enjoying himself, Sasuke went onto his next mission; gently moving his hands up until it reached metal and started to pull the zipper down.

"You know Sasuke, dad's office is just down the hall. If your moans get any louder I am sure the whole house will hear you."

Sasuke and Naruto jumped from the spot on Sasuke's bed, their excited manhood dying from being caught by none other than Itachi.

"Dammit Itachi! Knock before you come in." Sasuke snapped, rolling off Naruto and leaning back on his elbows, glaring at this brother who was standing at the door.

"I did. You were too busy to notice I knocked three times. When I heard moaning, I thought something was wrong. Now I see that you are not in pain, I would highly suggest ridding of your sex-driven erection before mom or dad saw it themselves."

"Fuck you."

"No thanks. That, my little foolish brother, is called incest and besides, I prefer women."

"Dammit! You know what I meant."

"Mmmm, maybe so. Either way, you're going to watch your precious little niece for a couple hours tonight. I have a work meeting at eight and I need you to watch her since dad and mom are busy."

"And what if I say no?"

"Well, dad is twenty feet away. I am sure I can break the news that his younger son prefers dicks over chicks."

"Itachi!"

"Deal?"

"Dammit, why do you always show up at the wrong time? This is blackmail."

"Hey Father?" Itachi called out, looking down the hall.

"Shit! Shit! Fine! I'll watch her!"

Itachi smiled, knowing he won, even though it was a cruel way to get Sasuke to babysit. What other option was there that was as entertaining as this one?

"She's downstairs. I will send her up when I leave. Thank you Sasuke."

The older brother left the room, closing the door while Sasuke was too busy glaring.

"Your…brother seems nice."

* * *

**Ending Note:** Blarg! Reviews?


	8. Chapter 8: Jealousy

Author's note: Sorry this is shorter and it took me a while. Computer crashed, had to buy a new one and also college exams and moving took a lot out of me. :)

* * *

Chapter 7 recap:

"And what if I say no?"

"Well, dad is twenty feet away. I am sure I can break the news that his younger son prefers dicks over chicks."

"Itachi!"

"Deal?"

"Dammit, why do you always show up at the wrong time? This is blackmail."

"Hey Father?" Itachi called out, looking down the hall.

"Shit! Shit! Fine! I'll watch her!"

Itachi smiled, knowing he won, even though it was a cruel way to get Sasuke to babysit. What other option was there that was as entertaining as this one?

"She's downstairs. I will send her up when I leave. Thank you Sasuke."

The older brother left the room, closing the door while Sasuke was too busy glaring.

"Your…brother seems nice."

* * *

Chapter 8:

If any morning was as long as this one, Sasuke was sure he was going to go insane and never return to school. Monday mornings were always the worst, even for a guy like Sasuke. He dreaded Mondays and what did he have first thing in the morning? AP Chemistry, It wasn't the class material that was torturing Sasuke to the point he wanted to jab his eyes with his pencil or dump flammable liquids down the drain and catch it on fire. He was sitting in the chemistry lab, white gown, goggles and a lab partner who knew nothing about what they were learning. First thing on a Monday morning; if he hadn't stopped his partner from pouring the wrong liquid into the beaker, half the class would be up in flames by now and Sasuke was sure he would have third degree burns, no hair and revenge. The sound of angels singing "alleluia" arrived when class ended and the sound of the class period bell rang. Naruto arrived before Sasuke at their lockers and by the smirk on Naruto's face, Sasuke was sure Naruto was up to no good.

"So Sasuke. Have plans tonight?"

Scrolling his combination into his locker, he traced his memory for any activities he had on Monday nights or if there was anything his parents may have told him. He couldn't think of anything special going on.

"No. Why?"

If Naruto's grin became wider, he would look like the Disney's version of the Cheshire cat, and that cat always scared Sasuke since he was little.

"Well, Kiba, Gaara and I were planning on going to the movies tonight and maybe go get dinner afterwards."

"Since when did you have money to go out?" Sasuke questioned, grabbing his books from his locker before closing it.

"Hehe! Well, Kiba is paying for me."

"No. He is not." Sasuke exclaimed. Naruto froze after hearing that serious tome come from the Uchiha.

"Sasuke. You know I don't have the money to pay for all of this. Kiba said his mom will give him a few dollars extra Whats wrong with that?"

Sasuke couldn't help smirking. "Well dobe, lets just call this our first official date as a couple and I will pay for the both of us." He said smoothly, leaning in closer to the blonde until their noses were almost touching. "After all, you and I have not had an official date and I do not consider you coming over to my house to work on a project as a date. Not to mention babysitting."

The space between them grew as the five minute bell rang and students were on their way to class.

"How about we finish this conversation at lunch Teme? It will give me more time to think about it."

Before the bell rang, Naruto was running down the hall to his class as Sasuke turned to walk into his just across form where his locker was. Tonight was going to be fun.

* * *

-5pm-

Naruto had agreed to accept Sasuke's first date offer and agreed to let Sasuke pick him up at five in the afternoon at his apartment. They were to meet up with Gaara, Kiba, Hinata and Neji at the Ramen Restaurant on front street, less than a mile from the movie theater. When they arrived, they saw their group already seated at a corer booth with their drinks.

"Hey guys!" Naruto yelled as he slid into the seat next to Kiba and Sasuke slid next to Naruto. They all looked more dressed up than normal but not too fancy either. A waitress walked by and took the Blondes and the Ravens drink orders and left only to return a few minutes later with their drinks.

"Naruto? Why did you order hot chocolate?" Neji asked, watching the Blonde use his spoon to eat the whip cream on top.

"Because I felt like drinking something hot. Plus I like this white stuff they serve it with." He answered, taking in a mouthful of whip cream.

"I am sure Sasuke serves hot stuff that's white as well." Kiba added, only to get hit across the back of his head by Hinata and Sasuke leaned over Naruto to add another smack to the back of the brunettes head.

"God dammit! I was just saying! It was a joke! A joke!"

"We don't want to hear perverted jokes from a pervert while we are about to eat dinner." Gaara added. "It might give us bad images."

Kiba took time to think about what Gaara had just said. "God no! The image! Get it out!" He yelled as he held his head and smacked it on the table.

"Hey watch it! You almost spilled by drink!" Naruto exclaimed, holding the mug close to his chest.

"Why is going out in public always so humiliating when we have Kiba and Naruto along?" Neji sighed.

The group arrived fifteen minutes before the movie was suppose to start and headed in the theater. They always liked getting there early to get the best seats and made their way to take up the middle section in a row and silently chatted.

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto leaned closer to whisper to him.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"For?"

The Blonde was hesitant to answer and thought about letting Sasuke figure it out on his own, but he wasn't cruel and he didn't want Sasuke thinking about why he was thankful when they were suppose to just relax and enjoy the movie with each other.

"Well. For dinner and this movie."

Sasuke smirked, leaning in closer until his breath was felt on Naruto's cheek.

"My pleasure, dobe." He whispered and added a small kiss on his cheek.

* * *

"That movie was awesome" Kiba yelled, throwing his hands up in the air as the group walked out of the theater to their separate cars. "I mean, damn! The graphics were top notch! No wonder it was crowded! I could watch that movie a hundred more times and it would still be awesome!"

"Kiba calm down." Hinata added, trying to place her hands on his shoulders to help, which didn't.

"I know! I mean fuck! Who knew that one of the main characters would go evil like that and his best friend would have to fight him later on! Damn, I wish I was awesome like that and can do the moves they could!" Naruto jumped up onto Kiba's back, pushing Hinata aside and Kiba took off jogging in front of them towards their cars.

"Shit. We just get out of a theater and already they are being dumbasses." Neji exclaimed, watching Kiba throw Naruto off his back onto his car and started a small wrestling fight which ended up with both falling off the hood of the car into the pavement.

"Oi! Dobe! Don't get your nice shirt dirty."

Naruto loosened his grip on Kiba's neck and looked at the four watching them. "Why? It's my shirt anyways."

"Yeah, and you will have to clean it later. Get off the damn ground." And before Naruto knew it, Sasuke grabbed his arm and primed him from Kiba's grasp.

"Haha! Whoa! Calm down Sasuke!"

"I am calm you dick!" Sasuke hissed, checking Naruto's appearance. "Damn it Naruto! You ripped a hole in your pants!"

"Wow Sasuke, your such a mother." Kiba mumbled.

"Fuck, I bought these pants for him. I have the right to."

The entire group shot a look at Sasuke and Naruto. The blonde was blushing rather heavily and avoided eye contact.

"You bought him clothes Sasuke?" Kiba asked, getting off the ground as well and wiping his pants and shirt off.

"He needed some. I wasn't going to let him carry on with the clothes he did have."

"Why would you go so far?" Neji asked, crossing his arms. "It's not like you to be charitable or even care so much."

Sasuke nor the group knew how to respond to that. It was more of a rhetorical question nonetheless. They all knew it was because Naruto always got reactions out of Sasuke and even made him change his personality. Neji just wanted to see Sasukes reaction and see if he would admit anything they all knew. At that thought, Sasuke turned and started to walk towards his own car, ignoring what the other's were saying as Naruto watched his receding back.

"Naruto?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah?" he turned towards the rest of the group.

"You have a strange power over Sasuke."

"Naww." Naruto giggled as he went to scratch the back of his head. "He just only lets a few people get to know him."

"You mean one?" Neji corrected. "He only acts this way when your around. Don't get me wrong, I like it, I just wish Sasuke was like this more with other people besides his mom, his brother and you. Your the only one outside his family that he gets protective around."

"Yeah, and even I could tell he was jealous." Kiba snorted and grinned as he placed his hand behind Hinata, resting it on her hip.

"Jealous? Of what? What did I do to make him jealous?"

"You were having physical contact with Kiba. As soon as he saw that, he went protective and when you didn't listen, he snapped. You think he is going to let you be touched by other people?" Neji explained, watching the Blonde think about what he said. They were interrupted when the horn to Sasuke's car sounded and echoed in the parking lot.

"But Kiba and I were just playing." Naruto added, feeling a little bit guilty that Sasuke would feel jealous of him and Kiba fighting.

"He's just afraid to loose you that's all."

"Loose me? We just started dating! I mean before that, we acted like enemies and hated each other. He even ignored me like my life wasn't worth a dime on the street. I mean, I still don't even know if he truly likes me since our dating situation started while we were drunk."

The group felt a bit convicted, leaving them in the prank's lie that everyone else knew except them. But Gaara and Neji both knew about their attraction Naruto and Sasuke had for one another and knew neither of them were going to make the first move, so they did.

"Well, I got to get going. Sasuke's probably thinking of a way to kill Kiba in his sleep." He joked and turned to head towards Sasuke's red car.

"So when do we tell them?" Kiba asked. Neji and Gaara looked right at the burnette, knowing he didn't know that Sasuke's and Naruto's relationship started way their freshman year of high school, they just never knew it or made it official.

"Kiba, your in idiot." Gaara added before turning to Neji's car and got in his passenger's side.

"Wait…what? How am I an idiot! It was a fair question!" The group just shook their head, leaving Kiba out in the dust to wonder what made him an idiot. Ignorance sure is blissful.


	9. Chapter 9: Secrets Out

Chapter 8 Recap:

"So when do we tell them?" Kiba asked. Neji and Gaara looked right at the Burnett, knowing he didn't know that Sasuke's and Naruto's relationship started way their freshman year of high school, they just never knew it or made it official.

"Kiba, your in idiot." Gaara added before turning to Neji's car and got in his passenger's side.

"Wait…what? How am I an idiot! It was a fair question!" The group just shook their head, leaving Kiba out in the dust to wonder what made him an idiot. Ignorance sure is blissful.

* * *

Chapter 9: Secrets Out

Naruto slipped into Sasuke's car and almost in an instant, Sasuke peeled out of the theater's parking lot, heading the opposite direction of either of their homes.

"Ahh Sasuke, Our homes are the other way."

The car was silent, no music was playing nor was Sasuke responding to Naruto's obvious statement.

"Sasuke?"

hands began gripping the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white and his gaze never leaving the road. He was mad but he wasn't sure why he was. A tear in pants were nothing, it could be easily fixed or he could buy a new pair. No, that wasn't his problem. Then it was probably Kiba and Naruto play fighting but why did that make him so upset. He had seen them jump on each others back when they walked down the hallway at sch Sasuke's ool and even in gym class, Kiba would roll up his towel and smack Naruto in the ass and he wasn't ever mad before. Well, that was before they started to date. Why was he feeling so upset? All Sasuke knew was that he needed to go "there", to the one place that he liked to go to and sit and think about everything troubling him.

Naruto didn't try to say anything more as he sat in the passengers side, watching the scene change from inner-city to suburbs and now they were a good five miles out of town and the scenery began to be more beautiful. They passed over Kohona River and began to go up the forest covered hills. Naruto had only been outside the city limits when his classes went on field trips but he never left because he never owned a car. The blonde sat at the end of his seat, watching the branches overhead flash by and the sun was beginning to set. After another ten minutes, Sasuke pulled down into a dirt covered road and when he reached the end, it curved into a loop. As soon as Sasuke stopped his car, he placed it in park, unbuckled his seat belt, grabbed his keys and got out of the car. Naruto had no idea what was going on but he knew Sasuke was leaving him behind and he was not going to be ignored, especially in an area he had no idea where he was.

Quickly getting out of the car, Naruto chased after Sasuke.

"Hey Bastard! What the hell! I ask you questions and you ignore me. Why wont….you…"

Naruto finally caught up to the raven and all his argument slipped away as he saw the sight before him. Sasuke had drove them up to the tallest hill in the area, overlooking the city. The sky was turning a orange pink color as the sun was setting behind some hills and clouds in the background.

"Wow. I, never seen the city from up here before."

"My brother use to take me here a lot when I was younger." Sasuke stated, sitting down in the grass and Naruto followed.

"Why?"

"When ever my brother was to have a one on one talk with me, he would drive me here. He said he's had some fun experiences up here but lets not to into that detail."

"Wait what? fun experiences? In a seclusive place like this? Oh…haha! I got it." Naruto blushed a bit.

"Dobe."

"So why are we up here?" Naruto asked, grabbing a handful of grass and pulling it from the ground and tossing it in the air.

Sasuke didn't answer, instead he laid back and placed his hands behind his head as if he were going to take a nap. The blonde figured he would wait for the raven to respond instead of asking the question again. He was quite satisfied with the view before him as a light breeze blew across his face.

"I needed to think." Sasuke simply said, his eyes closed and his facial expression at rest.

"Think? About how you were just a protective bastard back at the theaters parking lot?"

"Hm."

The sound between them died down as Naruto was thinking about school and what homework he was putting off to the side that he had to do when he got home.

"I usually go here when I feel upset. I think about the past talks I had with Itachi and think that whatever I am upset about now isn't so bad. Itachi usually brought me here when he had something important to say to me. It was here when I found out that I was going to be an uncle and when…"

Naruto turned slightly to look over his shoulder at the raven. Sasuke's position moved and his head was no longer looking up at the sky, but away from Naruto.

"It was here when brother told me about mother's cancer."

There wasn't much Naruto could say, he never had a mother or a sibling to have moments like this with. He's only learned to be on his own and never had much places he went that reminded him of someone close like a relative. He knew this was a special place for Sasuke and he probably just needed to get away from people. But why did he bring the blonde along. That was what Naruto was trying to figure out. And why he was so protective.

"So, what are you thinking now?"

"Hm?" Sasuke responded, not looking towards Naruto.

"You said you come here to think. What are you thinking?"

"a few things."

"Like?"

"My mother."

Not that Sasuke knew Naruto knew about the situation so he figured he would act like he didn't know. Besides, he wanted to hear this from Sasuke himself…not Neji.

"What about your mother? Isn't she getting treatments?"

Naruto heard shifting next to him and say from the corner of his eye Sasuke sitting back up, crossing his legs Indian style and picked at some grass as Naruto did.

"She's dying. I can see her getting weaker every day that passes. Six months ago, she had enough energy to do almost all the housework. Now she has a hard time doing half of them. That's why we hired a housemaid to clean up on weekends because mother doesn't have time or the energy. And...father…he just acts like nothing is wrong or that mother is dying."

"Do you have something against your father? You sort of tensed up when you said the word 'father.'"

Although Naruto was oblivious to some things, when it came to other people's emotions, he caught every little hesitation in the voice. Sasuke all but looked away, not wanting to say much more about his father's abusive actions. Thinking about that, Sasuke pulled his long sleeve up to look at the bruise he got last week from his father on his arm. The bruise was gone for the most part, all but a yellow and purple spot shown but it was almost all the way healed. He pulled his long sleeve down over his arm again and began to scratch his arm over the thin material.

"Sasuke?"

"I just don't like him. That's all."

"Why? Is he mean to you or something?"

Sasuke has never been so open to anyone before but there was something about Naruto that seemed sincere, a person that made him want to trust himself to him.

"He…" Sasuke didn't know if he wanted to say anything. They did just start dating, not like he needed to know anyways. This was between him and his father…no one else. Well, that is what his father said. "It's nothing. Lets just drop it."

The Blonde felt unsatisfied. He knew something was happening but he didn't know what it was, not yet anyways. There was always Neji.

"So why were you so upset back at the theater?"

"Heh. I guess I was just annoyed. That's all. That movie we watched. the one character reminded me of myself only, my parents weren't killed by my older brother but the whole wanting acceptance from my father, it just." Sasuke stop in mid sentence, scratching the back of his head and took a deep breath. "It just hit me hard. It always seems my father wanted my older brother to be perfect and because my older brother got a girl pregnant, he was disowned and all of my older brothers expectations were pushed off him and placed on me. But I never seem to make him happy no matter how hard I try. If he found out about us, I have no idea what he will do. And I guess just attaching Kiba and you. Gah, it's hard to explain."

"It seems like you have a lot of responsibility and issues in your home. I can see why you have a thinking place away from your home."

"Yeah."

The two boys sat there in silence until the sun was set and the city lights illuminated the sky. That was when they decided that it was time to head back home and actually do their homework they have been putting aside.

* * *

The next couple of weeks consisted of frequent visits to Sasuke's house to finish the project and when the day came to present, their presentation went through like a breeze and Naruto was surprised to see such a high grade. Sasuke decided that since their presentation was such a success for Naruto and bumped his grade up half a grade, Sasuke agreed to take Naruto out for some ramen and then watch a movie back in Sasuke's room with popcorn. Of course, Naruto ate about five bowls of ramen which surprised Sasuke that Naruto even had that much room in his stomach but let it go when he saw Naruto's contentment and finally seeing a few pounds added to the boy since he first meet him. His cheery smile is what Sasuke longed for and if that meant to spend $15 for ramen, then he would gladly spend double. It was a Friday and they arrived at Sasuke's house, heading up to his room to watch the movie but not before they ran into the kitchen to start the popcorn and Sasuke gave a small kiss on his mothers cheek.

"Did you have dinner Sas?" His mother asked politely, drying her hands from just finishing the dishes.

"Yes. Naruto and I went out to eat. We are gonna watch a movie in my room now."

"Make sure the sound is not too high, your father is working in his office."

"Again?" Sasuke signed.

"You know how he is. Running the company and he recently lost one of his managers and so he's calling people who applied for the new position."

Sasuke sneered when he heard the news from his mother. "Yeah well, maybe if dad actually treated the people who work under him like people, maybe managers wouldn't me leaving all the time."

"Sasuke! Your fathers just rough. You know that. He expects the best out of everyone while they are at work."

"Yeah but people can have bad day's as well and dad doesn't have to get all prissy when someone is having a slow and bad day."

His mother gave Sasuke a look that made the conversation drop from then on. The microwave beeped and Sasuke's mother went to open and grabbed the popcorn. She opened it and took a couple of pieces before grabbing a bowl in the cupboard and pouring the rest of it's content.

"Did you want anything on top of it Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"I prefer a lot of butter but other than that, I like it straight out of the bag."

Sasuke's mother then turned to the fridge, grabbing half a stick of butter and placed in in a cup and placed it in the microwave, melting the butter and pouring it on top of the batch and handed it to Sasuke. "Have fun you two! Make sure to watch something lower than rated "Adult" ok? No porn either." She chuckled.

Naruto went wide eyed when his mother had said no porn. Not that he was planing on watching porn but she just freely porn like it was used everyday.

"She's walked in on me and my brother before, in our rooms. She says that to keep the embarrassment from happening." Sasuke stated before turning and headed up the other set of stairs that were next to the kitchen, towards the garage.

"Walked in on you and Itachi? Doing what?"

Sasuke smirked but blushed at the same time.

"Wait, you don't mean?"

"She's walked in on both of us on separate occasions looking at porn and masturbating."

"That's what I get for having two boys!" His mother yelled from the kitchen.

When they arrived in Sasukes room, Naruto quickly asked the question he was waiting to ask but didn't want his mom to hear him. "What kind of porn did your mom catch you looking at?"

Sasuke turned from setting the bowl of popcorn down on his night stand and headed towards his entertainment center. "What do you mean? Porn is porn."

"like..straight or homosexual porn?"

"Straight. She doesn't know my preference yet. I hope to keep it that way."

"But, if your….well prefer me…which I am a guy…why were you looking at heterosexual porn?" Naruto asked, jumping on Sasukes bed and stretched crossed it on his stomach before crawling to the edge to look at Sasuke's DVD collection.

"Just because I am dating you doesn't mean I am Homosexual."

"Then what does that make you?"

"Bisexual, like you." Sasuke watched Naruto's eyes float to his with a questionable look. "I know you like women as well. You had a crush on Sakura for the longest time. Everyone in the school knew about your failed attempts at asking her out."

"Hey. It was only because of you. If she wasn't attracted to you, she would have been all over me."

"Hmm."

"Hey Sasuke?" Sasuke finally turned on the TV and the DVD player and walked over to Naruto's side and sat down, looking at his list of DVD's as well.

"Hmm?"

"Why didn't you ever date anyone? I mean, all the girls wanted you. I am sure a couple would have gave up their own life to even get you to kiss them. Actually, they would probably kill just to have you look at them."

The Raven all but snorted at the thought of all his fangirls that followed him around like lost puppies. He was annoyed enough sitting at lunch with Ino and Sakura, they were the two leaders of the Sasuke fan club.

"I don't like any of them."

"Have you ever?"

"No."

"That's a lie! Even I have had dreams of Sakura's nice breasts bouncing around while cheering me on the sideline during basketball games." A loud thump was heard as Naruto landed on his shoulder, right off the bed from Sasuke's push.

"Teme! What the hell! You didn't have to push me!"

"You were giving me nightmares. Besides, Hinata's breast's are bigger. You should have dreamed of them instead."

"But Hinata is dating Kiba!"

"Exactly. She's taken. You'll be dreaming of the unreachable. I am fine with that."

"You know." Naruto whispered as he sat back up on the edge of the bed, placing both feet firmly on the ground just in case Sasuke would push him again. "Your rather protective and possessive of me. I know all the girls want to jump me and take a ride on my disco stick but dang, you can't put me on a leash yet."

"I'll put you on a god damn leash if I want to. We are dating so I don't appreciate you talking about other people like that."

"Ok ok. Let's just pick a movie shall we?"

"Fine. You pick then. I seen all these movies before anyways. Pick something you haven't seen yet."

It took Naruto around ten minutes to finally pick a movie that they both would enjoy and finally settling down on Sasuke's bed munching on popcorn. About twenty minutes into the movie, Naruto had ate a majority of the popcorn which lead Sasuke to pause the movie and head back down to make another batch.

When Sasuke arrived back in the room, he noticed Naruto was dozing off and didn't know if he should wake the blonde boy up, pause the movie or just let it run. Deciding on just getting in the bed to see if Naruto would be awake after Sasuke's body weight dipped in the bed. Sasuke sat down with his back against his pillows and noticed Naruto didn't even flinch when he sat down. Before the raven decided that auto was asleep and he was going to reach for the remote to turn the DVD off, he felt an arm sliding across his stomach and a small whimper from the Blonde as he curled up closer.

"Naruto's probably out of it." Sasuke thought to himself and decided to let Naruto curl up as close as he could. Naruto's blonde spikes made it to Sasuke's chest and Naruto's right leg made its way between Sasuke's legs, wrapping it around Sasuke's right leg as well.

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

Pressure was slightly adjusted from Sasuke's stomach to his left side, next to the bed. The blonde moved his body over Sasuke, staring right at the onyx eyes and making a lustful and icy glare, his face moving slowly closer and closer until the blonde's lips were touching Sasuke's, who's breath hitched.

"Sasuke" Naruto moaned seductively, almost daring Sasuke to make the next move. Sasuke accepted the offer and moved right into a deep kiss and Naruto moved his hands up to stroke Sasuke hair while Sasuke's hands traveled down Naruto's body and back up under his shirt where Naruto shuttered under the very cold touch of his hands. Sasuke moved his tongue across Naruto's lips, asking for permission and immediately dove into his mouth when Naruto opened. Neither of them had ever had a kiss like this before, well if you don't count elementary kisses and mommy kisses, then neither of them had ever kissed another person. So many girls dreamt of being Sasuke's first kiss, none of them expected Naruto to be his first and Sasuke was planning on Naruto being his last as well.

They broke away when air became desperate and pressed their foreheads together, panting and taking in deep breaths, taking in the scent of the other at the same time.

"Naruto. I lo…"

"Sasuke?" A feminine voice was heard at Sasuke's door. They both had been wrapped up that they didn't even notice the door opening and the hallway light fill the room and now, Sasuke's mom was standing and staring right at them both, on Sasuke's bed.

Naruto jumped from on top of Sasuke to at his feet, sitting nicely on the edge of the bed towards Sasuke's mom. Sasuke himself moved to the edge of his bed and sat on the edge, messing with his hair so it wasn't too messy from the blonde.

"Sasuke, why didn't you tell me?" his mother asked softly and closed the door behind her. She made her way into the room and sat between both of the boys to which both were trying to avoid her gaze. She she noticed neither of them were speaking and were probably embarrassed and scared, she herself giggled and placed a hand on each of the boy's and pulled them to her chest, while looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke felt his mom grab his hand and when he went to look at her, she was starring at him with a smile and a soft giggle.

"What are you laughing about?" Sasuke asked, noticing Naruto was looking at his hand when he noticed Sasuke's mom had grabbed it and held it close to her.

"I just think your acting funny, almost ashamed that I know now."

She couldn't have been more right and the blush in Sasuke's cheeks proved it so.

"You know, I don't care who you are with Sasuke. As long as you are happy."

"Wait..what?" Sasuke thought and turned to look at his mom. She could tell he was shacked at her for accepting this.

She giggled a little bit more and turned to look at Naruto, who was looking at his hand stuck in Sasuke's mother's grasp.

"You picked a nice handsome young man too. Outgoing and loud. Your opposite." She stated, turning back to Sasuke. "And don't worry, I won't tell your father."

She let go of both of their hands and stood up to walk towards the door. Before she left, she looked back at the stunned boys.

"Just, don't be too loud, your father is down the hall."

She gently closed the door and smiled. She knew her husband would probably be very upset and who knew what he would do. She prayed for the best.

"Ahh Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, looking towards Sasuke who was just as shocked as he was. "What, just happened?"

"My mom…just found out that I am gay."

Naruto snorted and held back a laugh and received a death glare from the raven.

"Whoa! Calm down, Sasuke! It could have been worse?"

"Worse?"

"Your mom could have came in and seen her youngest son taking it up the ass."

"Wait, who said I was taking it up the ass?" Sasuke dared Naruto to respond to that.

"That's not the point. It could have been worse. Plus, you mom is ok with it."

"Yeah, but do you know how pissed my dad will be when he finds out?"

"Umm, no. I take it he will be mad?"

"He will be pissed! Probably not acknowledge me and kick me out like he did my brother! Fuck, I am not ready to be kicked out. I haven't even graduated high school yet."

"Anything else?"

"Huh?"

"That your dad would do?"

Sasuke sat there for a moment, scratching at his long sleeve, debating on saying anything to Naruto or not but before his mind ended that thought Naruto reached over, grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled the sleeve up. The raven tried pulling away but Naruto's grasp on his wrist hurt when he tried to pull it away.

"Naruto! Stop!'

It was too late and Sasuke knew it. Naruto's shock gave Sasuke an advantage and pulled his hand away and pulled his sleeve down. To say the least Sasuke was pissed. He didn't want anyone to know about the bruises and cuts on his arms.

"Sasuke? Who…did that to you?"

There was no way Sasuke was going to answer and he sent another glare at the blonde, grabbing his arm close to his chest. After a minute of silence, Naruto stood up from his spot, stopped in front of Sasuke and bent down so he was looking right at Sasuke.

"Sasuke. You don't deserve this." As Naruto went to touch his arm but Sasuke flinched, which Naruto ignored and rubbed his arm. "If your father hurts you again, leave. Don't let him hurt you anymore."

He knew he didn't deserve it but he also didn't want to loose what little trust his father had for him in the first place. Walking out on him would be asking for more problems, and that was what Sasuke did not want.

"Where would I go?"

"Well, you do have your brother right? And Neji. I would say you could cow to my place but it's not like I have much there in the first place. But if you ever need a place to go and don't know where, you are always welcomed at mine."

It was the smile that reassured Naruto's words and Sasuke leaned down and placed his forehead on Naruto's, slightly rubbing his nose against Naruto's

"And I love you too Sasuke."

* * *

Author's Comment: Sorry for the really really late update. This summers been crazy. I flew from Indiana and I am staying in San Diego for the summer. I also found out I am dyslexic so that would explain why my grammar and spelling is terrible as it. :p And thank you all who have added this to your favorite story and updates in the past couple months of me not updating. :) I appreciate it!


	10. Chapter 10: Daddy Finds Out

**AN:** This is my first time with a mature scene so please, be nice. I never wrote anything related to sexual acts before. O.o

**Beta'ed by Leila84**

* * *

**Chapter 9 recap:**

"Sasuke. You don't deserve this." As Naruto went to touch his arm but Sasuke flinched, which Naruto ignored and rubbed his arm. "If your father hurts you again, leave. Don't let him hurt you anymore."

He knew he didn't deserve it but he also didn't want to lose what little trust his father had for him in the first place. Walking out on him would be asking for more problems, and that was what Sasuke did not want.

"Where would I go?"

"Well, you do have your brother right? And Neji. I would say you could cow to my place but it's not like I have much there in the first place. But if you ever need a place to go and don't know where, you are always welcomed at mine."

It was the smile that reassured Naruto's words and Sasuke leaned down and placed his forehead on Naruto's, slightly rubbing his nose against Naruto's

"And I love you too Sasuke."

* * *

**Chapter 10: Daddy Finds Out**

"So, what are you doing after high school?"

It was the question both Naruto and Sasuke wanted to ask each other but did not know how to bring up. Not to mention they were afraid of what the answers would be.

Naruto was afraid Sasuke was leaving to go to a college outside of their town while Sasuke was afraid Naruto was going to be staying in their hometown and wouldn't be up for college or moving.

They were both right.

Placing a CD in his stereo system, Sasuke was trying to avoid the topic as much as he could and pretended to not have heard the blonde's question.

"Sasuke, I know you heard me." Naruto claimed as he rolled from his back to his stomach on Sasuke's bed. Naruto had made his presence well known at the Uchiha residence, Sasuke's mom knew exactly what to make on days that Naruto didn't work after school and had a small meal prepared for the blonde as he would walk in the door. It was always the same, fresh cooked ramen with some added herbs and spices. Sometimes, Sasuke's mom would add in sliced chicken strips or pieces of steak and Naruto never complained. Whatever Sasuke's mom made, Naruto was happy to consume.

Sighing, Sasuke decided to play "embers and envelopes" by Mae and turned around to face the blonde. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke was preparing himself for the worse.

"Well, I am attending Otogakure University for a bachelor's degree in business and economics." There was a long pause before Sasuke broke it, asking the same question of Naruto.

"What…are you planning?"

The blonde flipped onto his back again and was looking up at Sasuke's ceiling. He knew something like this would happen.

"I am planning on staying in Konoha and working full time. There's a coffee shop that belongs to Gaara's sister and she said once I graduate, I can work full time for her since she was losing a couple of workers once they left for college."

Again, there was a long pause between the two; Naruto shifted a bit on the bed and Sasuke started to draw with his finger in the carpet.

"So, this means we will have to separate this fall huh." Sasuke spoke, it being more of a statement than a question. He really didn't want to think about them being together until the summer ended just to have to split up. It wasn't what either of them wanted.

"Well, why aren't you staying and attending Konoha University? I mean, don't they have a business degree as well? Konoha is a larger college than Otogakure right? They must have that option."

Of course they did, Sasuke knew they did but he placed his application in over 6 months ago and was accepted in November to attend the following fall. At that time, Sasuke didn't want to stay in Konoha and he even got his father to agree to let Sasuke stay in the dorms…away from him. Not that Sasuke would say why he was leaving to attend that college over the one that was closer. He wanted to be away from home, away from his father; he hadn't had a reason to stay before now.

"Yeah, KU does have the same degree and program."

"So why don't you go there instead?"

"Naruto, I think it would be too late to send in an application and re-do all my financial aid papers. Plus, my mom already started to buy me dorm room supplies."

Naruto couldn't argue with that, things were planned before they started to hang out, he wouldn't expect Sasuke to drop everything in his life for him.

"Well, will you visit?"

Naruto began to worry when Sasuke didn't reply. But when he looked at Sasuke he realized that Sasuke was about to jump on the bed and more than likely push him off. Before Naruto could move and grasp the bed, Sasuke did indeed jump but when the blonde wasn't pushed off the bed, he looked and Sasuke was lying beside him, a soft, pale, smooth hand embracing his own. Letting go of the sheets, Naruto let Sasuke grab and hold his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Of course I'll come back to visit. You think I would leave my mom alone for so long? She would probably call me every other day just to make sure I am fine and would whine for me to visit. Leaving will be hard for her, just as much as it will be for you and me. So yes, I will be sure to visit as often as I can."

They both laid there in Sasuke's bed, looking up at the ceiling, enjoying each other's company. They did have another month of summer to make some memories and to be happy, but they were still upset with the idea of Sasuke leaving in the fall to the university which was a six hour drive away.(1)

"Boys." a soft gentle tap on Sasuke's door led them to sit up and look at Sasuke's mother who walked in, smiling. "Dinner's ready if you're hungry. Your father won't be joining us tonight; he had to rush to an emergency meeting for the company."

She watched as the boys got off Sasuke's bed and made their way out the door, observing their expressions, "What's wrong you two?"

She never received an answer but she had a feeling it was something bad and she decided to find out at dinner.

* * *

"So what's wrong boys?" Sasuke's mother asked as she held up her bowl of rice and began eating.

Silence.

She could handle Sasuke being quiet but not Naruto. He was always laughing and speaking louder than the normal levels. Mikoto grew to love and appreciate having someone like Naruto around; he had come in and filled in the void that Sasuke and she had. His energy radiated most of the time which gave her a new strength after hearing his story.

"We talked about what we are going to do after high school." Sasuke dryly answered, picking at his stir fry with his fork.

"Oh? And neither of you are happy with your choices?"

Both of the boys nodded their heads slowly, keeping their eyes on their food. Mikoto couldn't help but chuckle at their actions.

"Ya know." She said, tapping her finger to her chin as if she were deep in thought. "You could always transfer to a closer college. I could pull some strings, if you apply to Konoha and guarantee an entrance for you."

"R-really?"

"Of course! You could always get an apartment if you really want to be out of the house that bad. Of course, you would have to talk to your father about this, I can't say if he will agree or not but it's worth a try."

The rest of the night, the boys were back to their old selves; joking, watching TV, and playing video games until Sasuke drove Naruto back to his place around ten.

When Sasuke parked in the community parking lot, they sat in complete silence before Naruto spoke up.

"So…I finally saved up some money and bought a used bed."

"When did this happen?" Sasuke asked a little surprised that Naruto bought the bed without telling him sooner.

"A couple days ago, Iruka helped me. He drove me to pick it up and helped bring it up to my room."

Sasuke smirked, "So, why don't you show me your new bed?"

"Alright!" Oblivious to the hidden meaning behind Sasuke's question, Naruto took it as an opportunity to hang out with him more.

Arriving in Naruto's room, there it sat, Naruto's wooden framed bed with a mattress and sheets all tucked in and his pillows all set up against the frame.

"Wow dobe, full size?" Sasuke smirked.

"It was cheap and is in good condition. I didn't care what size it was." Naruto responded, jumping on the bed and Sasuke followed him and sat down.

Sasuke pressed down on the mattress to see how soft it was.

Naruto fell onto his back, his hands on his stomach and a content sigh escaped him. "I finally feel like, everything is coming together."

A genuine smile formed on Sasuke's face as he leaned over and placed a small kiss on Naruto's lips. Pulling away slightly, Sasuke's eyes were as full of life as black orbs could get.

"Me too." He whispered and went to grab another kiss from Naruto.

The kiss deepened when Naruto grabbed Sasuke's black hair, pulling him as close to him as he could. The raven slid over on top of him, his tongue delving deep into the hot cavern, tasting sweet honey and peppermint.

"Let's just take a rain check. We do have school tomorrow and I do have work." Sasuke's hair was being filtered through by Naruto in a soothing motion. Neither of them wanted to leave but they both knew they had homework tonight and school tomorrow.

A hand came up to press on Naruto's chest, pulling him down onto the bed and Sasuke swallowed him up in his embrace, taking in the smell of their bodies mixed together.

"Ok but just five more minutes."

* * *

"Gosh! How long are they going to be living in that fake relationship?" Sakura complained, watching Naruto and Sasuke sitting at lunch table with each other. "They don't even know it's a joke."

"I know!" Ino added, crossing her arms. "I feel like just going over there just to let them know. And I still don't believe Sasuke is gay. I think he just felt bad about ending up in the same bed with Naruto and is pretending to be interested."

"Not that he would date you anyways." Karin added.

"Look who's talking Miss. I'm-to-lazy-to-do-half-of-my-hair-when-I-wake-up." Sakura sneered.

"Hey! It's a style! My professional hair stylist does this and told me it fits my personality."

"You're half crazy personality?" Ino laughed.

"I am not crazy!" Karin yelled.

"Whoa whoa, you need to calm down." Suigetsu added as he sat down with his plate of fresh hot food from the school. Juugo sat down beside him, next to Neji who had got his friend Gaara to sit with him today. "You complain enough and you will get wrinkles. Not that it would make you look any worse."

A small cardboard carton of milk was thrown right at Suigetsu's head who fell backwards in his seat.

"Fuuuckkk!" He yelled getting back up from his seat. He did notice the rest of the group were laughing…even Karin. "You're all so mean to me!"

"That's what you get for calling me ugly!" Karin shouted.

*on the other side of the cafeteria*

"Wow Sasuke, your friend Karin is loud."

"I know." He simply stated, going back to the food his mom packed for him that morning.

Kiba barked a small laugh.

"Man! They are fun to watch! Well, it's fun to see the fight between Karin versus Suigetsu and Ino versus Sakura. Gaara, Neji and Juugo aren't really fun to watch. They are boring.

"Your one to talk" Naruto added. "You're loud and obnoxious. I would know because we both are."

"Touché"

"So, are you guys ready for graduation?" Kiba asked the group. Everyone was a senior at the table and they all stopped eating to answer.

"I know I am!" Tenten smiled.

"Yeah! I can't wait to get out of this hell hole!" Kiba exclaimed after Tenten.

"Yes...Kiba-kun." Hinata whispered.

"Of course, that means less homework." Shikamaru added.

"You would say that" Tenten said, Shikamaru merely shrugged at the comment.

"Ohh yes! I am very excited! This means I get to train more and become stranger to prove to my uncle Guy-Sensei that I am a worthy family member to help out at the Dojo he owns!" Lee said over excitedly.

"I am. My dad said I get a new truck for graduation" Choji added.

"The fuck?" Kiba whined. "I want a new car! Why won't my parents buy me a new car?"

"Maybe because your mom is a vet and Choji's dad is a famous chef and makes more money?" Shikamaru merely stated with his face in his arms on the table.

"Dammit!"

The group went silent for a moment. They noticed that Sasuke and Naruto were not answering the question, their faces looking different directions, avoiding eye contact from the dog lover.

"Well Naruto? Sasuke?"

"Yeah, I am excited" Naruto just stated, no real emotions in it.

"Me too."

The rest of the group just looked at them. When had they ever been so silent? Sasuke normally just listened and hardly ever talked unless it was to make fun of Naruto and Kiba or to make a statement but Naruto was usually the one with Kiba talking the entire time. They all knew what it was probably about…well all of them had an idea except Kiba and Lee.

* * *

"Father?" Sasuke politely asked.

Sasuke and his parents were at the dinner table, eating a meal together for the first time in almost a week. Sasuke's father had been busy and ate in his office or got something on his way home from work.

"Hmm?" His father's rough deep voice vibrated.

"I was thinking about not attending Otogakure University this fall but going to Konoha University and getting an apartment a block away so I could walk to school instead of driving from home."

Silence brewed in the air after Sasuke's statement. It had been a couple of weeks since him and Naruto had that talk and he was really troubled by it. Being six hours away almost drove Sasuke crazy to think he would be 360 miles away from Naruto nine months of the year. The only thing that kept him from staying in Konoha was his father and his abuse. But after thinking about it, Sasuke realized he would also be that far away from his mom. Sasuke wanted to be around if things ever got worse for his mother. If his mother was nearing her death bed he would be too far away and might not make it back in time. He didn't want that to happen.

"Would this have anything to do with that Uzumaki kid?" His father asked, taking a sip from his green tea. As soon as Sasuke was beginning his sentence, his father cut in.

"I don't think you should be around that boy anymore Sasuke."

"But why?"

"Actually, I want you to stay away from him outside of school. He is not allowed over anymore."

"Why?"

"Nor are you allowed to call him. I am going to insist you give us your cell phone."

"The fuck?" Sasuke finally had enough, standing up, knocking over his dishes. His mother had been watching and listening to the conversation. "Why the fuck do you want me to not be friends with him anymore?"

"Sasuke. Your mouth." His father said.

"NO! I am pissed off! You won't tell me why! I demand an explanation!"

"Because I know you two are more than just friends."

Not only had Sasuke been shocked but when he turned to look at his mom, she had the same expression.

"Mom, did you say anything?" Sasuke asked.

"No Sasuke. Your mother said nothing about it. Mr. Haruno was to kind enough to tell me about it since my own son decided to keep this from me. And from the looks of it, I would be guessing your mother knew as well." His glare turned from Sasuke to his wife. "I will be sure to have a talk with her later." he stated, almost in a spiteful way, the kind of voice Sasuke recognized that he used before he was beaten.

"No." Sasuke thought to himself. "He can't hurt mother."

"I refuse to believe my son is gay and you will attend Otogakure University as we planned. You will call this off with Uzumaki and you will refrain from talking, touching or even hanging out with him."

"No."

"Sasuke. Our conversation is done."

In a matter of minutes, Sasuke's world came crashing down. He was left standing, looking down at his half eaten dinner as his father picked up his plate and left upstairs to his office, slamming the door shut. Sasuke heard shuffling and felt a warm embrace.

"Sasuke dear. I am so sorry." His mother whispered, cupping his face and wiping away a single tear that was running down his cheek. Her eyes were just as crushed as Sasuke's were. It had only been such a short time since his mom found out about the two and already, his father found out and their happy world crashed.

It was hard for the raven haired man to look into his mother's eyes. It was as if she was just as hurt as Sasuke was and it was hard for him to keep looking at her. "Sasuke?"

He knocked her away from him and began walking up to his room, softly closing the door.

Sasuke spent the entire night lying on top of his bed. The only light source that filled his room was from the moon, lighting through his window and the light in the hallway outside his door. At one point that night, Sasuke heard his father's conversation with his mother. His mother was a believer in love that went beyond gender. She believed in true love and soul mates. Even after her husband's actions, she still loved him because she believed they were soul mates. Sasuke hated it but at the same time loved her idea of love. He hated how his mother would love a man who would abuse their youngest son and be so cruel but he was glad she believed what she did because she would support his relationship with Naruto.

Naruto.

His cell phone had been in his back pocket the entire time since he arrived home from school. It would be so easy to break up their relationship through a text message or a phone call but seeming the blonde didn't have a phone, Sasuke was dreading telling the blonde the news tomorrow.

It was going to be the worst day of his life.

* * *

1. My university is a 6 hour drive from home. I just picked that number randomly. I have no idea how long it would take to drive from Konoha to the sound village. xD


	11. Chapter 10: Daddy Finds Out :Mature:

**EDIT: I mentioned how this was their first time in his chapter and forgot they "had sex" as part of the prank, so I had to change up a couple sentences.**

**AN:** This is my first time with a mature scene so please, be nice. I never wrote anything related to sexual acts before. O.o

**Beta'ed by Leila84**

* * *

**Chapter 9 recap:**

"Sasuke. You don't deserve this." As Naruto went to touch his arm but Sasuke flinched, which Naruto ignored and rubbed his arm. "If your father hurts you again, leave. Don't let him hurt you anymore."

He knew he didn't deserve it but he also didn't want to lose what little trust his father had for him in the first place. Walking out on him would be asking for more problems, and that was what Sasuke did not want.

"Where would I go?"

"Well, you do have your brother right? And Neji. I would say you could cow to my place but it's not like I have much there in the first place. But if you ever need a place to go and don't know where, you are always welcomed at mine."

It was the smile that reassured Naruto's words and Sasuke leaned down and placed his forehead on Naruto's, slightly rubbing his nose against Naruto's

"And I love you too Sasuke."

* * *

**Chapter 10: Daddy finds out**

_**WARNING: MATURE CONTENT!**_

"So, what are you doing after high school?"

It was the question both Naruto and Sasuke wanted to ask each other but did not know how to bring up. Not to mention they were afraid of what the answers would be.

Naruto was afraid Sasuke was leaving to go to a college outside of their town while Sasuke was afraid Naruto was going to be staying in their hometown and wouldn't be up for college or moving.

They were both right.

Placing a CD in his stereo system, Sasuke was trying to avoid the topic as much as he could and pretended to not have heard the blonde's question.

"Sasuke, I know you heard me." Naruto claimed as he rolled from his back to his stomach on Sasuke's bed. Naruto had made his presence well known at the Uchiha residence, Sasuke's mom knew exactly what to make on days that Naruto didn't work after school and had a small meal prepared for the blonde as he would walk in the door. It was always the same, fresh cooked ramen with some added herbs and spices. Sometimes, Sasuke's mom would add in sliced chicken strips or pieces of steak and Naruto never complained. Whatever Sasuke's mom made, Naruto was happy to consume.

Sighing, Sasuke decided to play "embers and envelopes" by Mae and turned around to face the blonde. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke was preparing himself for the worse.

"Well, I am attending Otogakure University for a bachelor's degree in business and economics." There was a long pause before Sasuke broke it, asking the same question of Naruto.

"What…are you planning?"

The blonde flipped onto his back again and was looking up at Sasuke's ceiling. He knew something like this would happen.

"I am planning on staying in Konoha and working full time. There's a coffee shop that belongs to Gaara's sister and she said once I graduate, I can work full time for her since she was losing a couple of workers once they left for college."

Again, there was a long pause between the two; Naruto shifted a bit on the bed and Sasuke started to draw with his finger in the carpet.

"So, this means we will have to separate this fall huh." Sasuke spoke, it being more of a statement than a question. He really didn't want to think about them being together until the summer ended just to have to split up. It wasn't what either of them wanted.

"Well, why aren't you staying and attending Konoha University? I mean, don't they have a business degree as well? Konoha is a larger college than Otogakure right? They must have that option."

Of course they did, Sasuke knew they did but he placed his application in over 6 months ago and was accepted in November to attend the following fall. At that time, Sasuke didn't want to stay in Konoha and he even got his father to agree to let Sasuke stay in the dorms…away from him. Not that Sasuke would say why he was leaving to attend that college over the one that was closer. He wanted to be away from home, away from his father; he hadn't had a reason to stay before now.

"Yeah, KU does have the same degree and program."

"So why don't you go there instead?"

"Naruto, I think it would be too late to send in an application and re-do all my financial aid papers. Plus, my mom already started to buy me dorm room supplies."

Naruto couldn't argue with that, things were planned before they started to hang out, he wouldn't expect Sasuke to drop everything in his life for him.

"Well, will you visit?"

Naruto began to worry when Sasuke didn't reply. But when he looked at Sasuke he realized that Sasuke was about to jump on the bed and more than likely push him off. Before Naruto could move and grasp the bed, Sasuke did indeed jump but when the blonde wasn't pushed off the bed, he looked and Sasuke was lying beside him, a soft, pale, smooth hand embracing his own. Letting go of the sheets, Naruto let Sasuke grab and hold his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Of course I'll come back to visit. You think I would leave my mom alone for so long? She would probably call me every other day just to make sure I am fine and would whine for me to visit. Leaving will be hard for her, just as much as it will be for you and me. So yes, I will be sure to visit as often as I can."

They both laid there in Sasuke's bed, looking up at the ceiling, enjoying each other's company. They did have another month of summer to make some memories and to be happy, but they were still upset with the idea of Sasuke leaving in the fall to the university which was a six hour drive away.(1)

"Boys." a soft gentle tap on Sasuke's door led them to sit up and look at Sasuke's mother who walked in, smiling. "Dinner's ready if you're hungry. Your father won't be joining us tonight; he had to rush to an emergency meeting for the company."

She watched as the boys got off Sasuke's bed and made their way out the door, observing their expressions, "What's wrong you two?"

She never received an answer but she had a feeling it was something bad and she decided to find out at dinner.

* * *

"So what's wrong boys?" Sasuke's mother asked as she held up her bowl of rice and began eating.

Silence.

She could handle Sasuke being quiet but not Naruto. He was always laughing and speaking louder than the normal levels. Mikoto grew to love and appreciate having someone like Naruto around; he had come in and filled in the void that Sasuke and she had. His energy radiated most of the time which gave her a new strength after hearing his story.

"We talked about what we are going to do after high school." Sasuke dryly answered, picking at his stir fry with his fork.

"Oh? And neither of you are happy with your choices?"

Both of the boys nodded their heads slowly, keeping their eyes on their food. Mikoto couldn't help but chuckle at their actions.

"Ya know." She said, tapping her finger to her chin as if she were deep in thought. "You could always transfer to a closer college. I could pull some strings, if you apply to Konoha and guarantee an entrance for you."

"R-really?"

"Of course! You could always get an apartment if you really want to be out of the house that bad. Of course, you would have to talk to your father about this, I can't say if he will agree or not but it's worth a try."

The rest of the night, the boys were back to their old selves; joking, watching TV, and playing video games until Sasuke drove Naruto back to his place around ten.

When Sasuke parked in the community parking lot, they sat in complete silence before Naruto spoke up.

"So…I finally saved up some money and bought a used bed."

"When did this happen?" Sasuke asked a little surprised that Naruto bought the bed without telling him sooner.

"A couple days ago, Iruka helped me. He drove me to pick it up and helped bring it up to my room."

Sasuke smirked, "So, why don't you show me your new bed?"

"Alright!" Oblivious to the hidden meaning behind Sasuke's question, Naruto took it as an opportunity to hang out with him more.

Arriving in Naruto's room, there it sat, Naruto's wooden framed bed with a mattress and sheets all tucked in and his pillows all set up against the frame.

"Wow dobe, full size?" Sasuke smirked.

"It was cheap and is in good condition. I didn't care what size it was." Naruto responded, jumping on the bed and Sasuke followed him and sat down.

Sasuke pressed down on the mattress to see how soft it was.

Naruto fell onto his back, his hands on his stomach and a content sigh escaped him. "I finally feel like, everything is coming together."

A genuine smile formed on Sasuke's face as he leaned over and placed a small kiss on Naruto's lips. Pulling away slightly, Sasuke's eyes were as full of life as black orbs could get.

"Me too." He whispered and went to grab another kiss from Naruto.

The kiss deepened when Naruto grabbed Sasuke's black hair, pulling him as close to him as he could. The raven slid over on top of him, his tongue delving deep into the hot cavern, tasting sweet honey and peppermint.

Hands began their exploration over clothed bodies, tingling sensations ruled over pores and the sensation of warmth on warmth was relaxing. The kiss broke for a second when Sasuke had pulled Naruto's shirt over his head and started to work on his own; continuing the kissing and touching once both of their shirts were gone, forgotten on the floor.

A small moan escaped Naruto's throat when he felt a hand glide just above his belt line and dip under his pants and boxers, grazing just above his now growing erection.

"S-Sasuke." the blonde pleaded. They had never gone past kissing and touching and that glide had been the lowest Sasuke had gone.

"Hmm?" He began sucking on Naruto's neck while his hand traveled lower eventually feeling the restricted erection which caused Naruto to buck his hips slightly at the feel of his warm touch.

"Sasuke…please…." Sasuke couldn't take that plea anymore but he wasn't about to make a move if one of them was not ready. Pulling away from the tan neck, his eyes connected with Naruto's, making sure Naruto was at least thinking logically and with utter lust.

"Is this your first time?" Sasuke asked.

He really didn't need to ask, he figured and hoped that this was the furthest Naruto had ever gone with anyone. It was, after all, his first.

"Well, unless you consider that night where we woke up in Kiba's bed, then no, this is not my first time."

Sasuke smirked. He didn't want to mention that night or consider it his first time since he didn't even remember it.

"Let's take this slow either way." He whispered while loosening and pulling the blonde's belt off his jeans. He wanted to make sure Naruto was comfortable with where he was going but the look Naruto gave him screamed, _'do it'_. He took the look as a challenge and while keeping his eyes locked with Naruto's, he undid the blonde's pants and moved down to the edge of the bed, pulling the pants right off Naruto's thin hips. The sight of the medium built 18 year old lying in only his orange clad boxers made Sasuke more than aware that he still had his pants on.

He groaned. "Orange, really Naruto?" He teased and started undoing his own belt, Naruto sat up quickly and grabbed Sasuke's hands, stopping him from going any further.

"Let me." He said simply and with a nod of approval, Naruto undid and helped Sasuke with his own jeans.

"Really Sasuke? Navy Blue?" Naruto returned the boxer tease.

"I'm not complaining." He said with a shrug.

"Well I am." Naruto whispered, moving his head closer to the prominent lump in Sasuke's boxers, an evil thought crossing his mind. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Naruto carefully pulled down the navy clad boxers.

"Naru…ahh"

The raven wasn't expecting Naruto to be so bold but he found himself inside the blonde's mouth, his hands gripping Naruto's shoulders as his knees began to shake. He was being teased as Naruto lapped at the slit and picked up a small amount of precum and then licked down the shaft and back up, Sasuke's erection twitching with pleasure.

Naruto didn't know much about oral but he quickly learn what Sasuke was sensitive to and what could bring the most pleasure. He slowly licked up and down Sasuke's shaft, using his other hand to massage the testicles and finally, took in Sasuke's head and began to suck.

Sasuke couldn't hold out much longer and when Naruto took part of him in, he couldn't help but buck forward to feel more of that wet heat engulfing him.

"Fuck."

From what he could tell, Sasuke was enjoying the foreplay and let Sasuke buck slightly deeper into his mouth. Naruto reveled in the sounds coming from Sasuke, them spurring him on further, giving him the motivation and energy to continue.

Sasuke knew he couldn't hold out much longer when the blonde took him in deeper and faster, almost taking him all the way.

The pace became more frantic and heavy breathing was damp in the air, it wasn't long before the sensation boiled up in Sasuke's lower region and his spine shivered with pleasure and with a whisper he tried to warn him before he released.

It didn't register until after his release that gave way in Naruto's mouth, but the blonde held Sasuke's hip forward and encouraged his release.

The taste was bittersweet, unique but also not the greatest. It was almost hard for the blonde to swallow so much at one time so he took the route of holding it in his mouth a tad bit longer and made his way to his bathroom to dump the rest of the content in his mouth into the sink. Rinsing his mouth out, he returned to his room to see Sasuke lying on his bed, face buried in the covers, almost like a child.

He couldn't help but smile at Sasuke's actions and walked over to his boyfriend and sat beside him, rubbing his naked back in reassurance.

"Sasuke?" The blonde whispered.

All Naruto heard was a mumble translated it in his mind as an 'I'm still alive'. He shook his head while smiling. Sasuke was full of surprises when he wasn't putting up a face in public.

"Your mom is going to wonder where you are." Sasuke shifted and moved his head to the side, facing towards Naruto.

"Are you trying to kick me out?"

"No, just saying."

"But you haven't cum yet."

Naruto was almost disappointed but was glad he was able to make Sasuke cum and that he was able to make Sasuke feel what he did moments ago. He wanted to be the only one to feel Sasuke and make him lose himself to the blonde. Yep, he was quite satisfied.

"Let's just take a rain check. We do have school tomorrow and I do have work." Sasuke's hair was being filtered through by Naruto in a soothing motion. Neither of them wanted to leave but they both knew they had homework tonight and school tomorrow.

A hand came up to press on Naruto's chest, pulling him down onto the bed and Sasuke swallowed him up in his embrace, taking in the smell of their bodies mixed together.

"Ok but just five more minutes."

* * *

"Gosh! How long are they going to be living in that fake relationship?" Sakura complained, watching Naruto and Sasuke sitting at lunch table with each other. "They don't even know it's a joke."

"I know!" Ino added, crossing her arms. "I feel like just going over there just to let them know. And I still don't believe Sasuke is gay. I think he just felt bad about ending up in the same bed with Naruto and is pretending to be interested."

"Not that he would date you anyways." Karin added.

"Look who's talking Miss. I'm-to-lazy-to-do-half-of-my-hair-when-I-wake-up." Sakura sneered.

"Hey! It's a style! My professional hair stylist does this and told me it fits my personality."

"You're half crazy personality?" Ino laughed.

"I am not crazy!" Karin yelled.

"Whoa whoa, you need to calm down." Suigetsu added as he sat down with his plate of fresh hot food from the school. Juugo sat down beside him, next to Neji who had got his friend Gaara to sit with him today. "You complain enough and you will get wrinkles. Not that it would make you look any worse."

A small cardboard carton of milk was thrown right at Suigetsu's head who fell backwards in his seat.

"Fuuuckkk!" He yelled getting back up from his seat. He did notice the rest of the group were laughing…even Karin. "You're all so mean to me!"

"That's what you get for calling me ugly!" Karin shouted.

*on the other side of the cafeteria*

"Wow Sasuke, your friend Karin is loud."

"I know." He simply stated, going back to the food his mom packed for him that morning.

Kiba barked a small laugh.

"Man! They are fun to watch! Well, it's fun to see the fight between Karin versus Suigetsu and Ino versus Sakura. Gaara, Neji and Juugo aren't really fun to watch. They are boring.

"Your one to talk" Naruto added. "You're loud and obnoxious. I would know because we both are."

"Touché"

"So, are you guys ready for graduation?" Kiba asked the group. Everyone was a senior at the table and they all stopped eating to answer.

"I know I am!" Tenten smiled.

"Yeah! I can't wait to get out of this hell hole!" Kiba exclaimed after Tenten.

"Yes...Kiba-kun." Hinata whispered.

"Of course, that means less homework." Shikamaru added.

"You would say that" Tenten said, Shikamaru merely shrugged at the comment.

"Ohh yes! I am very excited! This means I get to train more and become stranger to prove to my uncle Guy-Sensei that I am a worthy family member to help out at the Dojo he owns!" Lee said over excitedly.

"I am. My dad said I get a new truck for graduation" Choji added.

"The fuck?" Kiba whined. "I want a new car! Why won't my parents buy me a new car?"

"Maybe because your mom is a vet and Choji's dad is a famous chef and makes more money?" Shikamaru merely stated with his face in his arms on the table.

"Dammit!"

The group went silent for a moment. They noticed that Sasuke and Naruto were not answering the question, their faces looking different directions, avoiding eye contact from the dog lover.

"Well Naruto? Sasuke?"

"Yeah, I am excited" Naruto just stated, no real emotions in it.

"Me too."

The rest of the group just looked at them. When had they ever been so silent? Sasuke normally just listened and hardly ever talked unless it was to make fun of Naruto and Kiba or to make a statement but Naruto was usually the one with Kiba talking the entire time. They all knew what it was probably about…well all of them had an idea except Kiba and Lee.

* * *

"Father?" Sasuke politely asked.

Sasuke and his parents were at the dinner table, eating a meal together for the first time in almost a week. Sasuke's father had been busy and ate in his office or got something on his way home from work.

"Hmm?" His father's rough deep voice vibrated.

"I was thinking about not attending Otogakure University this fall but going to Konoha University and getting an apartment a block away so I could walk to school instead of driving from home."

Silence brewed in the air after Sasuke's statement. It had been a couple of weeks since him and Naruto had that talk and he was really troubled by it. Being six hours away almost drove Sasuke crazy to think he would be 360 miles away from Naruto nine months of the year. The only thing that kept him from staying in Konoha was his father and his abuse. But after thinking about it, Sasuke realized he would also be that far away from his mom. Sasuke wanted to be around if things ever got worse for his mother. If his mother was nearing her death bed he would be too far away and might not make it back in time. He didn't want that to happen.

"Would this have anything to do with that Uzumaki kid?" His father asked, taking a sip from his green tea. As soon as Sasuke was beginning his sentence, his father cut in.

"I don't think you should be around that boy anymore Sasuke."

"But why?"

"Actually, I want you to stay away from him outside of school. He is not allowed over anymore."

"Why?"

"Nor are you allowed to call him. I am going to insist you give us your cell phone."

"The fuck?" Sasuke finally had enough, standing up, knocking over his dishes. His mother had been watching and listening to the conversation. "Why the fuck do you want me to not be friends with him anymore?"

"Sasuke. Your mouth." His father said.

"NO! I am pissed off! You won't tell me why! I demand an explanation!"

"Because I know you two are more than just friends."

Not only had Sasuke been shocked but when he turned to look at his mom, she had the same expression.

"Mom, did you say anything?" Sasuke asked.

"No Sasuke. Your mother said nothing about it. Mr. Haruno was to kind enough to tell me about it since my own son decided to keep this from me. And from the looks of it, I would be guessing your mother knew as well." His glare turned from Sasuke to his wife. "I will be sure to have a talk with her later." he stated, almost in a spiteful way, the kind of voice Sasuke recognized that he used before he was beaten.

"No." Sasuke thought to himself. "He can't hurt mother."

"I refuse to believe my son is gay and you will attend Otogakure University as we planned. You will call this off with Uzumaki and you will refrain from talking, touching or even hanging out with him."

"No."

"Sasuke. Our conversation is done."

In a matter of minutes, Sasuke's world came crashing down. He was left standing, looking down at his half eaten dinner as his father picked up his plate and left upstairs to his office, slamming the door shut. Sasuke heard shuffling and felt a warm embrace.

"Sasuke dear. I am so sorry." His mother whispered, cupping his face and wiping away a single tear that was running down his cheek. Her eyes were just as crushed as Sasuke's were. It had only been such a short time since his mom found out about the two and already, his father found out and their happy world crashed.

It was hard for the raven haired man to look into his mother's eyes. It was as if she was just as hurt as Sasuke was and it was hard for him to keep looking at her. "Sasuke?"

He knocked her away from him and began walking up to his room, softly closing the door.

Sasuke spent the entire night lying on top of his bed. The only light source that filled his room was from the moon, lighting through his window and the light in the hallway outside his door. At one point that night, Sasuke heard his father's conversation with his mother. His mother was a believer in love that went beyond gender. She believed in true love and soul mates. Even after her husband's actions, she still loved him because she believed they were soul mates. Sasuke hated it but at the same time loved her idea of love. He hated how his mother would love a man who would abuse their youngest son and be so cruel but he was glad she believed what she did because she would support his relationship with Naruto.

Naruto.

His cell phone had been in his back pocket the entire time since he arrived home from school. It would be so easy to break up their relationship through a text message or a phone call but seeming the blonde didn't have a phone, Sasuke was dreading telling the blonde the news tomorrow.

It was going to be the worst day of his life.

* * *

1. My university is a 6 hour drive from home. I just picked that number randomly. I have no idea how long it would take to drive from Konoha to the sound village. xD


	12. Chapter 11: It was just a prank

AN: Oh gosh! I am so sorry guys! I just realized the ending of the last chapter and then you guys had to wait this long for a new chapter! That's like…torture! I tortured you guys! T.T *cries* Sorry! SO SORRY! On a good note, my art exhibit is next Monday (November 8th) and all my art pieces, my theme and everything is all approved! =D I just have to print my works on canvas and staple gun them onto my stretcher bars and matte paint them so they are safe from UV ad fingerprints. But I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. My beta reader seems to be on hiatus or something….I haven't received the corrections to this chapter yet so I am proof reading this myself….which I am NOT a good proof reader. xD If you see anything that needs changing, send me a PM please ;)

* * *

Chapter 10 Re-cap

Naruto.

His cell phone had been in his back pocket the entire time since he arrived home from school. It would be so easy to break up their relationship through a text message or a phone call but seeming the blonde didn't have a phone, Sasuke was dreading telling the blonde the news tomorrow.

It was going to be the worst day of his life.

* * *

**Chapter 11:** It was just a prank

The raven took his sweet time walking to the school. He was dreading everything about seeing the happy and hyperactive blonde but angry and was sure he was going to kill a certain pink haired girl. Oh, she was going to see his wrath and pain. Speaking of the devil.

"Sasuke kun!" Ino and Sakura had yelled in unison as they saw Sasuke in the hallway, heading towards his locker. As soon as they clung on to his arms, he pushed them both away, straightening his shirt from their clingyness.

"Fuck off." Was all he managed to say as Iruka had warned the raven to watch his mouth and Sasuke then took his wrath towards the unsuspecting brunette.

"Fuck you." Sasuke whispered, just quiet enough that only him and his fellow students heard him.

His locker was the next object to be the target of his anger. As soon as he put his combination in, his door swung open, slamming the door into the other lockers and causing people around him to flinch. Everyone knew Sasuke was pissed off at the world and no one knew why…and poor Naruto, he had no idea what he was about to fall into.

"Hey Bastard!" Naruto yelled as he went over to the raven. "I was wondering if we could hang out after school today! I need help with my science and since you are in advanced science, I thought maybe you could help me?"

Immediately, Naruto could tell something was wrong and he was at the wrong place at the wrong time today.

"Naruto, we're done." He said dryly, grinding his teeth together, holding back his anger.

"wait..what?"

His heart sunk and his breathing hitched. Did Sasuke just say they were done?

"We cannot be together anymore, Naruto. This….thing…between you and I is wrong. It won't work." As painful as that was for Sasuke to say, it was harder for Naruto take in and process what he had just heard and why.

"No. I mean…why? What did I do? What's wrong Sasuke?" Naruto was panicking and was wanting to know what was wrong so he could fix it. If it meant he had to back off a bit to give Sasuke space, then he would back off as long as Sasuke needed. If it meant that he had to jump off a fucking bridge, then he would jump off the fucking bridge.

"Naruto. We. Are. Done." He said, turning around to show how serious he was.

Just as fast as Sasuke turned around, he felt a punch to his face and failed to catch his footing as he tripped forward.

"Fucking bastard! So that's it? Your just going to walk away and pretend we were never together?"

The five minute bell began to ring and Sasuke picked himself up to grab his books from his locker and slammed it shut. He hated to look at Naruto and see the tears and anger in his eyes. He was good at hiding his feelings in public but he still felt like a sword was pierced through his gut and was twisting inside of him. The sad part was, he knew he was the one holding and twisting the sword but he had no choice.

"I don't want to discuss this anymore with you." He said dryly before heading to his class, leaving a broken and shattered blonde behind.

When half of the day was over and lunch arrived, Kiba had seen the blonde in the worst state he had ever seen and Naruto wouldn't even say why. He was quiet, alone and anyone could tell he was trying to hold back from falling apart. But Kiba was fucking going to get an answer during lunch and decided to drag Naruto into the guys bathroom, the furthest one from the cafeteria so they had their privacy.

"Ok Naruto. Whats wrong?" Kiba asked, crossing his arms and watched as the blonde started to cry a little bit. Naruto was really trying to hold back his emotions. He opened his mouth only to close it again and opened and closed again. It seemed no matter how hard he would try, his voice was going to crack.

"Sasuke, said him and I are done."

Kiba wasn't expecting that.

"He told me this morning that him and I are done and that this 'thing' we have is wrong." Naruto explained between small sobs. "and I don't even know why!"

Kiba grabbed Naruto as he fell to the bathroom floor as he began to break down in Kiba's arms.

"I don't know what I did wrong Kiba. I tried. I trusted him." He sobbed, his tears soaking into the brunette's shirt. All Kiba knew what to do was let Naruto cry on him and to release his pain. Gently, he began to rub Naruto's back, telling the blonde things will be fine in the end.

"I trusted him Kiba. I trusted Sasuke and he left me."

On the other side of the building, Sasuke was sitting at his own table, alone. He didn't even look towards Sakura, Ino, Karin and the rest of the gang nor did he look at Neji, Gaara and Shikamaru's table. He did notice that the blonde and the dog boy were missing at the table. He guessed they were together, probably talking about him.

Neji knew right away something was wrong but his life was worth more than finding out what was wrong. After all, he would find out eventually, which is probably why Kiba and Naruto were gone.

Something bad happened and he glared at the girls who were chatting away like nothing was different about the Uchiha. Yeap, he had a bad feeling.

* * *

Kakshi's class was after lunch and as much as Sasuke wanted to skip that class since he sat right next to the blonde, he knew his father would find out and be upset. But when Sasuke arrived, he noted the blonde wasn't there yet and by the time class started and Kakashi came waltzing in with a smile on his face, Naruto was still missing.

"Hmm? Look's like only one of you are missing today. Oh well!" He chirped, a little too happy for Sasuke's liking.

When school ended, all the raven wanted to do was go home, lock himself in his room, throw out the key and curl in the darkest corner he had and just stay there for all eternity. He hated people, well, most people. There were very few that he enjoyed having around and he lost one of the most important ones. As he stepped just outside the schools perimeter, he saw from the corner of his eye a flash of pink running up to him from behind.

"Sasuke!" She cried and he refused to stop. He would explode if she wanted to talk and he was warning her by walking faster. But before he knew it, the girl had ran in front of him and gripped his shoulders, causing him to flinch at her strong grasp she had on him.

"Sasuke? What's wrong?" Sakura asked, who would soon regret asking.

"What's wrong? What is wrong, you ask? YOU ARE WHAT IS FUCKING WRONG!" He yelled, pushing her arms away from him.

"Sasuke…I….I….don't know what you are talking about." She pleaded, wanting him to calm down.

"You fucking told your dad about Naruto and I and in turn, my father is no longer letting me see Naruto anymore!"

"But, it wasn't a real relationship." She spoke quietly.

"What? What do you mean it wasn't real? Because it sure felt real." His glare was so intense that Sakura could't stare into the black orbs. She shifted her weight, wondering if she should say anything but she was tired that this prank had gone as long as it had. Not to mention all of Sasuke's attention was focused on Naruto all the time and he hand't sat with her at their table since the day after the prank.

"That night, at the party when you passed out and woke up in Kiba's bed, it was all a joke. None of it happened the way we said. You and Naruto just ended up falling asleep at the party and we carried you to Kiba's and the guys undressed you. Kiba was the one who came up with the reason why you two ended up where you did but Gaara and Neji were the one's who had the idea in the first place. The confessions, the acts, everything was all just a prank, Sasuke. None of it really happened. You and Naruto were never dating nor did you two ever sleep together."

Sasuke's heart stopped. "Just a prank?" He asked quietly. So everything, their relationship was fake. Wait, did Naruto know about it before he did?

"Does Naruto know?"

Sakura looked down at her feet. Kiba had spoke to her earlier that day about what was happening with Naruto.

-*Flashback*-

"Saskura?" Kiba yelled as lunch just ended and everyone was heading to their next class.

"Yes?" She asked politely, a little too happily.

"What happened between Naruto and Sasuke? Naruto just had a breakdown and I had to call Iruka to pick him up. He was so out if it that he couldn't even get a basic sentence out without stuttering or crying." He explained, crossing his arms, looking at the girl like as if she knew.

"I have no idea. Maybe they found out that their whole relationship was just a prank." She shrugged, not really feeling bad if that were the case. She was tired of this prank and it was going way too far for her liking.

Kiba sighed and began massaging his temples. "I might as well text the truth to Naruto while he's home. I don't want him to find out another day and miss more classes."

"But, won't he take it hard?" Sakura asked, almost feeling guilty.

"Probably but he's Naruto. He's strong. Just give him a few days and he will be his old felt again." That's what he was hoping anyways, Naruto had never been in a relationship so it's not like he knew how he would handle it.

"Alright. I will tell Sasuke after school. I usually see him walking home and I can stop him and tell him the truth."

They both nodded in agreement and left in opposite directions.

The only problem was, Kiba forgot Naruto didn't have a cell phone and when he went to text, he cursed because he didn't have time to call his house to talk to him, he would have to wait until after school to get ahold of Naruto and tell him the truth.

-*Flashback ends*-

Without much thought, Sakura replied to Sasuke's question. "Yeah, Naruto knows." She added and realized Sasuke's fists started shaking and his anger boiling up.

"That….asshole! He played me this whole time?"

"No Sasuke that's not what I..."

"I don't want to hear it!" and in a swift second, Sasuke ran past the pink haired girl and began running. He had no idea where he was running to but he didn't want to go home where his parents would question him so he just went where his feet took him, which was away from his problems. If he had to leave this city, he would. His brother made it on his own with a child, he could on his own as well.

Sakura stood behind, cursing that the truth was being revealed but she was glad this was over, for the most part.

* * *

"He's been gone for four hours now." Mikoto stated with her hands held together as if she was praying. Her husband was sitting on the other side of the table, looking at phone numbers which he could call. "Why don't you call Itachi, see if he's with him." she pleaded but was followed with rejection.

"I would rather call Oprah Winfrey before I called Itachi." He stated, turning another page of his address he had of family and friends in the area.

"Well why don't we call the police?"

"And have this on the news? No."

"Why are you always so conscious about how the Uchiha name will appear if news gets out that Sasuke is missing? What if he's out there dying?" She yelled, emphasizing the word dying with her hands. She couldn't handle all this stress and her husband was more worried about the rumors the press would make than having their son back at home, safe and sound.

"Fine. I will call the cops. I would rather put up with rumors than see you cry." He stated, grabbing the land line phone and calling 911.

All Mikoto could do was pray, pray that Sasuke was alright and that he was just fine with a friend and forgot to call home.

* * *

Itachi had just put his daughter Aiko to sleep when he heard his phone ring. It was near eight at night and he knew of only one person who would call this late. Walking into his small apartment kitchen, he lifted the wireless phone and as he expected, it was from his parents home. He clicked the "accept" button and placed the phone to her ear.

"Hello mother." He answered, knowing father would never call and Sasuke, well, he would use his cell phone and never the landline.

"Itachi, please tell me Sasuke is there with you." She pleaded, twisting a finger around the phones cord in nervousness.

"No. I have not seen him all night. Why? Is he missing?"

"He hasn't came home since school let out. I am worried. I have no idea where he would be. Your father called all our family members in town and some of Sasuke's friends and none of them know where Sasuke is."

There were one of two places Sasuke could think of.

"Did you try Naruto's?" He asked.

"No, I have not, but we did get ahold of Neji who gave me Kiba's phone number who said Naruto went home early and Sasuke stayed in school all day."

"That wouldn't mean Sasuke didn't go to his place after school."

"Oh I know hun. The thing is, your father told Sasuke to break up with Naruto. I don't think he would be there after Kiba telling me that they had indeed broke up. Which was why Naruto left home early, he took it hard."

"I see." Itachi whispered. If he wasn't at Naruto's then he knew exactly where Sasuke was, problem is, he couldn't leave since his daughter was just placed in her bed and he really didn't want his mother to be over at his place so late while things were tense but the sooner he found Sasuke, the better. "I will come by and drop Aiko with you. I think I know where Sasuke may be at."

A deep relief lifted Mikoto's heart as she knew Itachi would have an idea where his younger brother would be. After all, they use to spend a lot of time together and headed out to places to hang out. If anyone knew, it would be Itachi.

"Alright. Please, just hurry. I am worried about Sasuke."

"No problem, but I do have to ask, why did father tell Sasuke to break up with Naruto?" The older brother wasn't stupid, he had an idea why but wanted to know for a fact.

"You know your father, he's conservative. He doesn't support homosexuals and think it's a disgusting act. Not to mention the reputation he wants to keep up with the Uchiha name." She explained,

"And what do you think mother?" He simply asked, not knowing what her intake was on the situation.

"I knew before your father found out. I don't have a problem with it. I actually like Naruto a lot. The poor boy had gone through Hell and back, supporting himself with no family. I welcomed him over and feed him as much as I could offer." A small smile crossed her face. "He is a wonderful boy, the exact opposite of Sasuke but I think Naruto is what Sasuke needs and Sasuke is what Naruto needs."

Itachi was proud of his mom, she was always caring and nonjudgmental which was why he could talk to her about anything, she was open minded and honest.

"Alright. I will be by in about twenty minutes"

And they both hung up.

"Please Sasuke be where you think you are" Itachi prayed before he woke up his daughter and headed out.

* * *

It was another thirty minute drive for Itachi from his home to the place he felt Sasuke would be. It was quite a drive and if Sasuke walked or ran this entire route, he would be sure that Sasuke was exhausted wherever he was. It had been completely dark when he reached the outskirts of the city and into the country area. He took a turn up a hill, reaching his dedication and parked his car.

Right in front of him was the very hill he spent time with Sasuke when they were just a tad bit younger. The city lights created a florescent glow in the cloudy sky and before him was a silhouette sitting in the grass and indeed, it was Sasuke's duck butt hair that was what gave him away.

"I think you got your exercise for the next month." He said sarcastically, testing to see what Sasuke's patience level was.

The only reply Sasuke gave was a turn of the head to acknowledge that he knew Itachi was there. He took that as an indication to talk to his younger brother about what was happening.

"Do you remember when you were just about 5 years old, and mom asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. Do you remember your answer, Sasuke?"

Sasuke sneered for a moment, he hated pointless questions but he knew Itachi's question's were not pointless.

"Yes. I said I wanted to be a professional snowboarder."

"And why did you not go for it?" Itachi simply asked.

"Because dad said I wouldn't make steady money that way."

"And what did mom say?" He asked again.

"She said go for it, as long as I don't break any bones and always remember to be respectful and fair against my opponents."

"If you still snowboarded, would you try out to be a professional now?"

"No."

"And does that upset you Sasuke? You use to love snowboarding and watching it on TV."

Sasuke merely shrugged at what Itachi asked.

"I dunno. Sometimes I wish I could but I know dad would be upset if I 'wasted' money on snowboard equipment and holiday passes."

"And that's the difference between you and I, Sasuke."

"What do you mean?"

"I never let dad's words effect me. He didn't like my girlfriend nor that I had a kid. He also wanted me to take over the family businesses but I refused because it wouldn't have made me happy and he hated that. You let dad stomp all over you. You desperately seek his attention that approval that you will never get, Sasuke. You really think dad will all of a sudden change when you do everything he asks?"

"That's because dad gave you all the attention and was always proud of you."

"And do you think I liked that he favored me over you?" Itachi had to take a deep breath before he carried on, it has been a while since he had been so open and honest to Sasuke but he knew it would help. "Sasuke, I hated seeing you being left behind by dad, which was partially why I stepped off to the side and made dad upset with me, so he would see potential in you too. But, when I was out of the picture, he only placed more expectations on you to fulfill. I placed expectations on you without realizing it. I'm sorry. But Sasuke, do mom and myself a favor, do what you want to do. If dad say's no, tell him that it's your life. Your eighteen years old now and you can make your own decisions."

"But dad would kick me out and stop his support like he did to you."

"And then you have me to lean on Sasuke…and Naruto. Both of us may not have much to offer but I guarantee you, mom would slip in a few dollars to help support you and also help you with college. Mom still does that with me without dad knowing."

"She does?"

"Hmp. Yes. As much as I say no, mom can be stubborn and she uses that 'Itachi, I don't have longer to live so please do this and make me happy' speech on me and I give in."

"She's very convincing." Sasuke laughed a bit at that, seeing his mom using her cancer as an excuse for Itachi taking her money.

"She is, but it's because she loves me. She loves you. Just like how I and Naruto love you."

Love, that had been the first time Itachi had said he loved Sasuke. He tried to express it and write it down in letters and cards but he had never said it to him, face to face.

"Psh. You don't love someone by playing around with their feelings." Sasuke whispered, picking up a stick and throwing it.

"Naruto? I only meet him a few times but from what I can tell of his character, I don't think he is the type to mess around with someone's feelings, muchless yours."

"But Sakura said…"

"And do you believe Sakura?" Itachi interrupted Sasuke's statement. A long pause broke out between both of them as Sasuke thought about what he asked.

"No."

"And do you trust Naruto?"

"Well, I did."

"I think you should talk to him. Hear things from his perspective. Or if you don't want to see him right now, talk to a close friend of his who would be neutral about the situation. I don't know anything except that dad told you to break up with Naruto. Mom and I say don't."

"Exactly, you and mom don't know the situation. How can you tell me to talk to him after what happened? You wouldn't…"

Sasuke was silenced with a poke to his forehead, Itachi on the other end, smiling a genuine smile.

"Just trust Naruto. I know you have a hard time trusting people after you been hurt but trust me on this."

"You hurt me too ya know. So you asking me to trust you and to trust Naruto. I don't know if I can do both at the same time." He teased, brushing his brothers finger off his forehead and shrugged.

Itachi did a satisfying deep breath, knowing he had made his point and how it was up to Sasuke to fulfill what dreams he may have hidden from the world.

"Well, mom is worried sick about you so I think I should bring you back now. I even had to wake Aiko up right after I placed her in bed so you owe me." He teased, standing up and wiping off the grass and dirt from his pants. "Just do what you think is right, Sasuke."

* * *

"Sasuke! I was worried sick" his mother yelled as she ran over to her youngest son, hugging him until he could hardly breathe. He stumbled back, pushing his mom away from the smothering.

"Mom. I'm fine." he said sternly and Itachi smiled at their mother's actions.

"Is Aiko in my old room?" Itachi asked, heading up the stairs.

"Yes she is. Sound asleep too."

Itachi was gone up the stairs and down the hallway before she finished her sentence. Couple minutes later, he was heading down the steps with his daughter in hand.

"Well, have a good night mother and Sasuke. It's really late and I have to get up early."

They said their goodbyes and then when the door was shut, Fugaku had arrived down the stairs.

"Sasuke" he stated, crossing his arms and glaring at his son. "Why did you run away. Only cowards run away. I almost had to get the police involved and that would have been all over the news. You know well that our reputation would have been shattered if the public found out you ran away from home. I don't know what has been wrong with you lately but I expect you to mature and get over this facade." He stated, never taking his eyes off Sasuke.

"I am not a coward." the young Uchiha stated, glaring back at his father with equal anger.

"Oh?"

"You are the coward. Your the one afraid of the public seeing that we are a normal family, that we have faults like any other family out there. Your the one afraid of people judging you and the family if they find out I am a homosexual or that I ran away because I needed to think things through and be alone."

"Stop this nonsense!"

"No! I have to give up my freedom because of my last name, because of you. And because of this, I am unhappy, Itachi's unhappy, even mom's unhappy!"

"You shut your mouth or I will shut it for you, Saske!"

"Go ahead!" Sasuke, yelled, pulling his sleeves up to hold up his scarred and bruised arms. "It's not like you haven't abused me in the past! The flesh can heal, but mental pain takes longer to heal. As long as I am happy, you can punch me, hit me, kick me, and even cut me all you want! I am not going to give up my happiness because you want me to."

"Sasuke?" Mikoto asked, walking closer to her youngest son. She reached and held his arm and began to rub his bruises, scars and fresh self inflicted cuts. "Did you do all this?" She whispered, watching her sons eyes who were stuck on his fathers.

"No. Not all of it." She stated simply, glaring his cold eyes back at his fathers who's was equally cold.

"Fugaku?" She asked, looking at him with pain in her coal colored eyes. "Did you do this to Sasuke?"

He scoffed: no compassion in his face or his posture.

"I will not have a disobedient son. He deserved every beating I gave him. I assure you that."

"Fugaku!" She yelled, holding Sasuke close to her body. "You…you abused Sasuke willingly?"

"Oh don't feel sorry for him. He is a troubled kid who needs to lean his place."

"Troubled? Sasuke? Sasuke has only ever done what you asked! He's got good grades, graduating and going off to college! He's very successful if you ask me!" She didn't hold back her tears that were falling down her cheeks. "He's never deserved being hit! Not once! And out of all people who would abuse him, it's you?"

"You don't know what you are talking about Mikoto. Your taking his side and not seeing things from my side."

"I don't want to know your side." She cried. "You abused our son. Our youngest son. I can't…I can't forgive you for that."

"I don't need your forgiveness." He simply stated, turning back towards the stairs and heading back to his office.

Mikoto finally looked at Sasuke in the eyes since she started to argue with her husband. She saw pain in his eyes as well as fear. She didn't want her son to be abused anymore. She didn't notice all this time. He's been in pain and she didn't know.

"Come on, Sasuke" She said, hugging him. "We are leaving tonight."

"Where?" Sasuke squeaked, hardly able to hold down his fear and tears.

"Away from here." She simply stated, cupping his face and moving a bang out of his face. "I don't think it's safe for us to be here right now." She said. "I don't want you to be in anymore pain. I guess you and I have something in common." She kissed his forehead.

* * *

AN: Reviews would be great. :3 Thank you all for your support!


	13. Chapter 12: The Real Truth

Dedicated to my Beta Reader, Sam Fail. I know you were having a hard time with the passing away of a family member but you know I am here to chat if you need!

Author's note: If I make Sakura seem like a mean bitch, that was not my intension. I like Sakura, I just wanted her to push things and create drama. :)

(Expect grammar and punctuation issues in this chapter! I am posting it without a beta reader. Yes, I graduated from college but that doesn't mean I am a professional writer. I graduated with an art degree. Some may be 'easy' mistakes but please remember I am very busy and also have a learning disability but I don't use that as a crutch to not write! If interested, I would love to have a 2nd beta reader!)

* * *

Chapter 11 Re-cap:

"I don't need your forgiveness." He simply stated, turning back towards the stairs and heading back to his office.

Mikoto finally looked at Sasuke in the eyes since she started to argue with her husband. She saw pain in his eyes as well as fear. She didn't want her son to be abused anymore. She didn't notice all this time. He's been in pain and she didn't know.

"Come on, Sasuke" She said, hugging him. "We are leaving tonight."

"Where?" Sasuke squeaked, hardly able to hold down his fear and tears.

"Away from here." She simply stated, cupping his face and moving a bang out of his face. "I don't think it's safe for us to be here right now." She said. "I don't want you to be in anymore pain. I guess you and I have something in common."

* * *

Chapter 12: The Real Truth

Sasuke made sure he stayed quiet when he went to his room to pack his bag of clothing for the next few days as his mom has ordered him to do. In less than twenty minutes, Sasuke was in his mothers car, heading to a hotel for them to stay at for as long as they needed. When they checked in, Mikoto made sure to pay with cash she had taken out of an ATM machine a few blocks away so that Fugaku wouldn't be able to track her credit card activity. The last thing she wanted was for him to find out where they were staying. To add extra security, she also asked the hotel management to keep their stay at the hotel private, even to Fugaku. of course. They did add one person to the list for them to accept information to and that was her other son, Itachi, in case he would search for them.

When they arrived in their suite, Sasuke just dropped his bag on the floor next to his bed and watched his mother as she began to unpack in the neighboring room. This was going to be a rough week and this was the last thing he needed since graduation was coming up. The raven was actually more afraid of what his father would do if he knew they both had left and if he would come after them or even go after his friends. 'Naruto' Sasuke said silently before collapsing on his bed, face first.

"Sasuke?" He heard his mother quietly ask as she sat down next to him, playing with his hair.

"Mmmp?"

"Things will be alright in the end."

"How do you know for sure?" Sasuke asked, pushing his face deeper into the bed as his mother kept playing with his hair.

"I just have a feeling we will be fine…you will be fine."

"Will dad do anything to anyone when he finds out we left?"

His mother paused for a moment, looking off into the distance as if she had no idea herself but wanted to reassure Sasuke, her son, that things will be alright.

"How long as your father been abusing you Sasuke?" She asked.

"Mom, I really don't want to talk about that." Sasuke explained, grabbing one of the pillows and began to cuddle with it. The look in her eye's were stern, like even the fiercest storm wouldn't knock her over.

"Sasuke, I am your mother and I would like to know how long your father has been abusing you. I feel like I am partially to blame since this has been going on and I had no idea."

Sasuke sat up, looking at his mother's equal dark orbs which held a small hint of guilt and fear.

"For a couple of year's. A little after Itachi was kicked out."

"Sasuke hun, that was more than a couple year's ago."

"I know."

"Why didn't you say anything? You could have came to me about it."

"Dad threatened me. He didn't want anyone else to know."

"But you also said not all the cuts on your arm was from your father, who are the others from?"

It was an obvious answer, well in Sasuke's mind it was, but he figured his mother really did not know.

"I did them." He was waiting for a gasp or some sort of sound from his mother but he received none. He looked up and her eyes were one of compassion and understanding. Leaning forward, she hugged him closely, rocking back an fourth as if she was cradling him to sleep like she use to do when he was a baby.

"Promise me you won't cut yourself anymore, Sasuke. Please."

"I have no reason to anymore."

XX

"You mean you didn't tell Naruto?" Sakura said, grasping her phone to the point she thought she heard a crack.

"Dude! Calm down! Gosh! I can't contact Naruto! It's not like he has a cell phone or a landline and he won't open his apartment door. There is only so much I can do."

"Well then do more! Sasuke is never going to talk to me again after what happened today!"

"So this is all about you?" Kiba asked, unimpressed at the pinkette's tactics.

"Well...the way you put it, it sounds like I am."

"That's because you, Ino and Karin are!" The tip of the iceberg finally fell off and Kiba was on a rage. His best friend had one too many emotional hits and he didn't need more, he didn't deserve more. "Do you even know that Sasuke does not like girls! He doesn't like you. He doesn't like Ino, he doesn't like Karin! When will you girls get it! He doesn't like you, he likes Naruto and if you three weren't so prissy about getting his affection, you would have seen how much happier they both were together!"

"I...guess I didn't want to believe it." She whispered, feeling guilty for everything that had happened in the last few hours.

"Because you weren't willing to. If you want to make it up, talk to Sasuke. Tell him the truth, ALL OF IT! And then encourage him." Kiba spat.

Sakura knew he was right, she needed to talk to Sasuke to get everything cleared up.

"Ok" She whispered.

XX

"Uchiha residence." Fugaku's stern voice answered. Sakura was shocked that Sasuke's father had answered the phone, that was just, weird.

"H-hello Mr Uchiha. I was wondering if I could talk to Sasuke."

"No." She just said.

"Is he even there?"

"No."

"Oh...ok. Thanks." She hung up, thinking about the information she just received. Sasuke's father answered the phone which never happened and she could not talk to Sasuke because he was not there. Not to mention Sasuke was not at school that day. She was getting worried, Sasuke and Naruto did not show up for school, and she could not get a hold of either of them. "Maybe Neji knows." she reasoned, picking up her cell phone, dialing the Hyuga's cell phone and after two rings, he picked up.

"Neji?" She asked timidly.

"Who is this?" He simply asked, shocked that anyone besides Tenten had called him.

"It's Saskura. Look, I was wondering if you know what is going on with Sasuke? I tried calling his house but his father picked up and said Sasuke was not even home. He wasn't even at school today. Any ideas"

Now that Neji thought about it, he didn't see the Uchiha all day nor had he saw Naruto. He thought for a moment, trying to think of any possibilities.

"Did you try his cell phone?" He asked.

"Yes. And I even sent him text messages but he has his phone off. I am not sure what to do."

"There isn't much you can do."

"What? Why not?" She asked, clutching the sheets on her bed. She wanted to make things right, she was tired of always getting in the way, thinking of herself before other's. She was going to fix this no matter how hard and impossible it was, she did care about Sasuke and his happiness and if he want's Naruto, she will give him up.

"The only other way I can think of is if you contact Naruto but even I do not know that much information. Now if you excuse me, I do have a paper to write for my class."

They hung up, Sakura scrambling to put on her shoes and a jacket. "Bye mom!"

XX

Knock knock knock.

"Dammit!" Sakura blew in her gloves, jumping up and down to keep herself warm. It was getting warmer since it was spring but tonight, it had gotten down to the forties and she was freezing her ass off, but she didn't mind, she would hope the end results would be worth it. "Dammit Naruto! Answer your fucking door!" she yelled, pounding on the door harder. "Naruto! Please!"

"Sakura?" She heard a voice from behind her.

She flipped around, looking to see where the voice wad coming from and right in front of her was Naruto in a green uniform. She gave him a confused look until she saw the logo on his coat.

"Oh, you work for Kanoha's postal service?" She asked, leaning in to look at his coat's logo.

"Yeah, I need money so I have a couple of small part time jobs." He explained, more curious about her arrival in from of his door. "So why are you here?"

She popped out of her mind's current track and came back to the reason she was here. Sakura looked down at her feet, a little nervous to tell Naruto the truth but he did deserve to know.

"You...remember that night...the one where you woke up in Kiba's bed with Sasuke?" She asked embarrassingly, red tinting her cheeks as she spoke. The blonde all but nodded, putting his hands in his coat to keep them from the cool breeze blowing. "Well, I wanted to let you know that, what Kiba said, about you two sleeping together..."

She paused taking a deep breath, looking into his eyes.

"That was all just a prank. You and Sasuke really didn't do anything with each other that night. Not even at the party. You both sort of passed out and the boys decided to play a prank. Kiba told me why."

"Why?" Naruto asked, cutting her sentence short. The pinkette saw pain but understanding in his eye's, afterall, it probably dulled the pain knowing that Saskue and him were really never that close in the first place, that it was all just a prank. The break up was hard on him still but this information sort of dulled the pain a little bit.

"Because they noticed that you and Sasuke kept watching each other that night. Even though you two fought and were never friends, they felt you two wanted to be closer, something more than friends but were too stubborn to make a move."

"Heh. I didn't think it was that obvious."

"It wasn't, well for me anyways. Now that I think back and watching everything unfold, I can see how the guys saw what they did. Kiba just wants the best for you and he thought Sasuke may give you something more I guess. I am not sure on everything but I do know that Sasuke really does care about you. I just think because of the Uchiha name and the pressure of his father, I think he had no choice to do what he did to you. I can't see him hurting you on purpose."

Small drops of rain started to fall, speckling on Sakura's jacket, turning her light blue jacket into spots of dark blue. Naruto took notice, grabbing his keys to let them both inside this place. Nodding his head, Sakura noticed he was silently offering her to come in before they both got soaked. When the pinkette walked in, the first thing she did notice was how cold it was, maybe twenty degree's warmer than outside but sixty degrees is still cold. The house was also bare, small items scattered with no real furniture.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Naruto offered. "I can make hot chocolate or tea if you want."

"N-no thanks. I was actually here to also ask you if you seen Sasuke since yesterday?

Naruto shook his head. "Wasn't he at school today?"

Iy was Sakura's turn to shake her head. "No. He was not. I called his house and his father picked up and told me he wasn't even home. I just have a bad feeling. He's never missed a day and it was just odd to not have him around."

"Maybe he's with Itachi or something." Naruto added. "I mean, I know he is close to his brother, well, not as close as he can be. I guess his father doesn't like Itachi so Sasuke has to keep a distance but I am sure if anyone knew, it would be him."

Sakura's hope grew, she had never thought of asking Itachi and even Neji didn't suggest it. "That's a great idea! You know where he lives or his number?"

"Actually, no. I don't know. Whenever I seen Itachi, it was always at Sasuke's house or in public, I never been to his place."

"We gotta find out where Sasuke is. He thinks that you knew about this prank and was playing around with him."

"What? Where did he get that idea?" Naruto yelled and shocked that Sasuke would even for a moment think he would do such a thing.

"I...I am to blame for that. I was trying to explain to him about the prank and how you two never had a relationship that night. I thought you knew at the time I was telling Sasuke because Kiba said he was going to tell you so when Sasuke asked if you knew about the prank, I said yes. That was when he thought that you were playing with his emotions and freaked out and left the school. I haven't seen him since...no one has. I am sorry Naruto. I didn't mean for things to go this bad. I was just hoping that thie prank would just be that, a prank. I had no idea that you two actually had feelings for each other."

"No time for reminiscing about the past, Sakura. We need to find Sasuke."

"How will we find him?" She asked.

Naruto smirked, "I have some ideas."

XX

The raven haired man was sitting at his couch, he had just put his daughter to sleep and enjoying a nice cup of coffee, watching the news. He had a long exhausting day. Dropped his daughter off at the day care, called his mom and got no response, went to work, had lunch, called his mom and got no response again, went back to work, got off work, picked up his daughter, called his mom again only to meet the same fate as before, made dinner, gave his daughter a bath, put her to bed and here we was, relaxing in his living room. He was wondering why his mother was not answering her cell phone. He then reached in his pocket, pulling out his cell phone and began to call Sasuke.

"Hey, it's Sasuke. Leave a message." He heard his brothers stoic voice say right after the first ring. Itachi hung up, looking at his phone.

"I wonder why his phones off." His thought was broken when he heard knocking at his front door. He sighed, putting his coffee cup down on his table before getting up to open the door. He was surprised to say the least at who was at his door.

"Oh, Naruto-kun. Can I help you?" He asked.

"Where is Sasuke?" He just asked, skipping introducitons.

"I don't know. I been trying to call my mom all day and she is not responding. I just tried calling Sasuke's number and his phone is off. Was he not at school?" He asked.

They both shook their heads.

"I saw them last night. I picked Sasuke up after having a talk and dropped him off at home but left as soon as possible since my father was there."

"Well, I called the house and your dad said that Sasuke was not at the house."

"My dad answered the phone?" He asked, genuinely curious. "He only answer's when no one else is home."

"So Sasuke and his mom are both gone?" Naruto asked, a bit confused. "Why? Where? Do you think something happened?"

"I honestly have no idea. I know mom was suppose to have an appointment today at the hospital. I can call and see if she went in. If she did, I am sure Sasuke and mom are alright, if not, I will begin to worry."

Itachi turned,keeping the door open for the two older teens to walk into his apartment. Sakura and Naruto were shocked at seeing how many photographs they saw of Sasuke, Mikoto and Itachi in frames around the place. A few of Itachi's daughter but none of their father.

"Yes. Thank you. God bye." Itachi finished his conversation. "Mom didn't go to the appointment but apparently father was there. He told the nurses that he was there to meet her but left after thirty minutes."

"So? Does this mean something bad happened?" Sakura asked.

"My first thought was that my father did something to them but since he arrived at the hospital to meet mother there, I am guessing he has no idea where she is. My best guess is that mother and Sasuke left. I don't know where or when but it's safe to assume they are together."

XX

"Mrs Uchiha?" Mitoto heard when she answered her hotel rooms phone.

"Yes? This is her." She said happily, munching on some popcorn with her son on the beds while watching a movie on the tv.

"You have some visitors. The are on their way up." Was all the receptionist said. Mikoto froze, scared that it was her husband. 'He found us?'

"T-thank you." she stuttered, hanging up the phone, running off the bed to turn off the tv and the lights.

Sasuke was enjoying the movie and was a bit irritated when his mother suddenly freaked out and turned off the tv and the lights.

"Mom? Really? Is this necessary?" he asked, moving off to the edge of the bed.

"Someone's coming." Was all she said before she made a hush sound.

"Who?" Sasuke asked, panicking slightly. He didn't get a response when they heard a soft knock on the door.

"Mom. It's Itachi. Please open up." They heard, a hugh weight lifting off their chest and released a breath they didn't notice they were holding in.

Mikoto placed a hand on her chest, relieved that it was only her oldest son. She turned the lights back on, unlocking the door and opening it slightly to make sure it was indeed her son.

When she cracked the door open, Itachi saw fear in her eye's but when she saw with her own eye's that it was indeed him, her eye's turned soft, throwing the door open before hugging him.

"Oh Itachi hun! How did you find us?" She asked, kissing his cheek before stepping back, seeing Sakura and Naruto standing behind him. A large smile was plastered on her face when she saw Naruto, real concern in his eye's as he looked inside, probably looking for Sasuke.

"Sakura and Naruto here told me that Sasuke did not go to school today. I was concerned and called the hotels in the area, asking for information. All of them said that was confidential but I was able to bribe them with being an Uchiha. Eventually I found you and was able to get the information."

While Itachi and Mikoto were talking, Naruto caught site of Sasuke standing in the background next to one of the full size beds. He could just sense a small awkwardness between themselves when Sasuke looked up into his eyes. Sakura noticed the eye contact between the two boys, so she nudged Naruto, encouraging him to pass by Itachi and to go talk to Sasuke.

Sasuke saw Sakura nudge the blonde and to his surprise, he saw Naruto nod to her and started walking his way.

'Remember what Itachi said. Just listen to him. Just listen to what Naruto has to say before I come to any conclusions." He took a deep breath and stood tall when Naruto was finally less than a foot away from him. The blondes nervous grin was a bit relaxing, it was exactly what he needed to see to know Naruto was just as scared as he was.

"Heh, hi teme."

"Dobe."

Sasuke noticed it had became quiet. Looking over Naruto's shoulder he saw that his mother and brother had stopped talking and turned their attention towards the two. The trio at the door noticed Sasuke's glare as they instantly because interested in the hotels walls and ceiling, anywhere but at them. The raven signed.

"Why don't we go out on the porch and talk." It was more of a statement than a question. Naruto nodded and followed suite as Sasuke stepped towards the sliding glass door, opening it and waited for the blonde to walk out before closing it, giving a death glare at the three in the bed room, a warning per-se.

Naruto sat down on one of the metal chairs that looked out across the city, Sasuke sitting in the one next to him. The cool of the metal tensed his body as he felt the coldness soak into his clothes onto his skin. After a couple of seconds, the metal warmed up to his body temperature, relaxing into the curve of the seat. An pregnant silence drifted between the two, neither really wanting to start the conversation but someone had to end the silence.

"So...how are you doing?" Naruto asked, slowly, dragging out the word 'so' but quickly saying the rest of the sentence in a faster pace. Sasuke almost missed what Naruto asked but he caught on. He just shrugged.

"Ok I guess."

"Why are you here and not at your house?"

Oh yes, he jumped the gun.

"I don't want to talk about that right now." He just said, looking up unto the clear dark shy. The moon was lighting up the world, even making his own skin glow as the small clouds above looked like they themselves were giving off light. Sasuke loved nights like these, clear, dark and in a small way, bright. He smiled at the concept of being dark but bright at the same time. Was it even possible to be both at the same time. "About, yesterday. I am...sorry...for saying what I did. It was more out of anger than truth."

Naruto looked at the raven with wide eyes. He was expecting anything but an apology, he was even going as far as to holding onto his chair just in case Sasuke lost it and threw him over the balcony.

"It's ok. I mean, you were right. It's...not normal. I mean, for two guys to...you know."

Sasuke shook his head, disagreeing with what Naruto was saying, where he was getting at.

"No. The only reason it is not normal is because it's not traditional. We are the minority in this world but it does not mean it is wrong."

"Yeah, I guess your right."

Another few moments of silence filled the air between them, both sort of shifting in their seats.

On the other side of the glass door, Itachi was talking to his mother.

"So where is Aiko?" His mother asked worriedly, looking at Sakura just in case she was holding the child.

Itachi giggled, watching his mother's hope drown out when she didn't see the grandchild.

"I dropped her off at a friend of mines on the way here."

"What? You could have brought her here! I could have seen her and held her!" His mother's eyes were starting to tear up, Itachi knowing his mother well enough that she was just teasing while Sakura was really worried, thinking she was truly crying.

"Mother. No worries. I will be sure to stop by tomorrow with her after work if you want."

Mikoto's eyes brightened and a large smile plastered on her face. "Yes please!"

"Mom, you spoil her too much."

"That's what grandmother's are suppose to do. Besides, if Sasuke goes the road he is going down now, she may be my only granddaughter."

Itachi grinned. "Yes, and don't expect another kid from me. One is hard enough handle on my own."

Sasuke sneezed, wiping his nose with his long sleeve shirt before he heard Naruto giggle. "Your family is probably talking about you."

"Probably. I wouldn't be surprised."

"So...umm...what do you know about...this whole...situation?"

Sasuke sneered, thinking back to what he learned from Sakura.

"That all of this was just a huge prank and you knew about it."

Exactly what Naruto was expecting from the Raven. If Sakura was right, which she was, he would have said those words Naruto was anticipating.

"I did not know about it actually."

Sasuke's head snapped to his left, looking at the blonde with wide eyes. "But Sakura said.."

"Sakura just said that I knew about the prank. What she did not know was that Kiba did not tell me at the time. Sakura assumed Kiba had told me already and said I knew. I honestly had no idea about it the whole time, that is, until today when Sakura told me."

"Wait, Sakura told you today? Why didn't Kiba?"

Naruto laughed slightly, embarrassed. "Well, you see. Kiba had stopped by my house several times the last two days. I didn't answer, I never gave him a chance. I did hear him yell some things but I simply just put on headphones and listened to my CD player to drown out his yelling. When Kiba had left, I decided to leave my house to check at my job to see if I could work, even just for an hour, which I did. When I came back, Sakura was at my door."

"And you listened to her?"

"Well, I sorta had no choice. I didn't want to be rude."

"I wouldn't have had a problem with that." Sasuke sneered.

"That's because you can be a total ass when you want to. I can't."

They both laughed. It was true though. Sasuke could cuss and yell at anyone if they got on his bad side. Girl or not, he didn't care. Naruto on the other hand, he was more polite.

"Itachi was right."

"What?"

"I came to my own conclusions. I'm sorry."

The blonde smiled the biggest and most goofiest smile Sasuke had ever seen on the dobe before.

"It's ok! Just glad things are smoothing over!"

Sasuke nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath of relief.

"So, will you tell me why you are currently staying at a hotel?"

* * *

**Authors Note:** Sorry for such a wait. I had to go through college graduation in December, move to another state, get 2 jobs and had to move into my own apartment. I feel like all I do is sleep, eat and work.

**Review responses:**

makura moderski: I LOVE YOU! I think you are one of the few readers I do remember! I am like, "Ffffasaghdshagdahgvdhs SHE REVIEWED! And I jump, hop and skip in my chair...if that is possible. XD

Samsal: Here's your new chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

aj527: You know, I never really liked Sasukes father in the manga. I made him "geerr" in this for a reason. XD

itachisgurl93: Gosh! Thankies!

rokudaime09: I know Sakura is a bit*h in my story but no worries, I did that on purpose...for drama sake. XD

fullmoonwolf950: I HAVE NOT READ THAT DOUJINSHI! Ohhh I want to nooowww! It does sound like I got my idea from that.

AVAuchiha: HAHA! I hate reading outloud. I do re-read my story sometimes. Sometimes I do not and just pass it on to my beta reader. Bad habit, I know. :C

kyunika: Thank you for the support! -hugs-

Nayeli: Glad you are enjoying it!

Tamyka: Sorry. -sweat drop- I will try not to go months again without an update. And my art exhibit went smooth! It was really good!

NaruSasuForEver277: I try to keep it interesting. ;) Thanks!

Nanami Loves Sasunaru: You got your next chapter. Hope it wasn't a disappointment. :D

Aquaknite: Thank you! Its an honor that you would read this story even though it is not complete!

(If I forgot someone, I did not do that on purpose. T.T All my emails with the review alerts are scrambled. I am TERRIBLE with organization. I will try and give you all thanks in the next chapters to come just to show I do read and appreciate EVERY REVIEW I GET! 3)


	14. Chapter 13: Missing

Note: Not beta-ed but proof read. Please let me know in a note with any errors you see and I will fix it asap. :) Don't be afraid to let me know but be polite.

* * *

_**It was Just a Prank**_

**Chapter 13:** Missing

Itachi decided to walk Sakura home after dropping by the hotel with Naruto. The two teens had been sitting on the porch for at least an hour before Itachi suggested that Sakura should go home. She complied, nodding in agreement and left without saying goodbye to the two. Not that she cared as much as she was glad they were talking again. A week didn't even pass by when the truth came out and Naruto and Sasuke were a wreck emotionally. The pinkette finally understood that it didn't matter if Sasuke choose Naruto or herself, she saw how much they completed each other and that was what mattered. She left the hotel with a smile on her face.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I never knew your father was abusive. Glad you have Itachi and your mom to help support you. They seem to really love and care about you."

Sasuke could only nod. He knew they loved him, especially his mom, but he also didn't know how to show his appreciation. He loved them but he never said it due to how it would sound when he would actually say it. It wasn't his forte.

They sat in the cool air for a few more minutes in silence, listening to the sounds of the city and the slight breeze through the buildings. Naruto broke the silence when he coughed, gaining Sasuke's attention.

"So, um. What are we exactly?" He asked with slight nervousness in his voice.

Sasuke smirked. He knew exactly what Naruto was asking but he had no idea for himself.

"I don't know."

"Do you think it would be a bad idea to, you know, pretend this didn't happen?"

Sasuke looked shocked and hurt at the same time but Naruto quickly recovered his words.

"I didn't mean it like that! What I meant was this whole 'downfall' we had. I miss having you to hang out with and I like your company. Even though we weren't 'official' from the beginning, it sort of felt like we were."

Relief fell upon Sasuke. He leaned back in his chair, slumping while placing his hands in his pant pockets.

"Sure." Was all he said.

"So, are we still, you know?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"How can we still when we weren't even dating in the first place?"

"I...I dunno."

They both knew they were beating around the bush. They both wanted to be on equal terms and say they were officially together but neither of them wanted to do the asking.

"Since your such a dobe and your balls haven't dropped. Will you be my...you know."

Naruto laughed. "And who's balls haven't dropped? You can't even say the word."

"Well, I would like to hear you say it then."

The blonde hesitated. It was still a strange word to say: to admit and ask.

"Boyfriend." The blonde whispered.

He finally got it off his chest and Sasuke laughed.

"So, you do have balls."

"You would know, bastard." Naruto teased, lightly punching Sasuke in the shoulder, smiling widely.

"I suppose I would." The air was finally calm and easy between them. All the tension was finally out and forgotten. "So, I will take that as a yes, you will be my...boyfriend?"

Naruto groaned, swiping his hair away from his face before covering his eyes from the sun that seeped through the blinds in his bedroom. It was too early for him to even think about getting up. Grabbing the bedsheets, he rolled over, taking about a foot of his comforter with him before it stopped. He groaned again. He completely forgot he wasn't in his bedroom. It was the fourth day he's been at the hotel, staying with Sasuke and his mother and again another morning where he was staying in a bed with uncomfortable bedsheets and a old pillow which left his neck sore throughout the day.

"Good morning boys!" Mikoto chirped as she walked into the hotel room with a paper bag in each hand. "I got us breakfast!"

"Go away." Sasuke mumbled, his face planted right into his pillow.

Naruto could hear Mikoto giggle before he heard the sound of the bags being placed down on a table and footsteps that seemed to be getting closer.

It was quiet, too quiet, but that was shortly lived when Naruto nearly fell out of his bed when Sasuke yelped and threw the covers off himself.

"MOM!" He screamed while Mikoto sat at the end of the bed laughing.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked, sitting up. "Why did you scream, asshole?"

Sasuke was beat red, pulling the covers over the lower half of his body while he glared at his mother. Naruto looked at Mikoto, confused about the situation.

"The bathroom is available." She just teased before getting up and moving back to the bag she put on the table.

The weight of Sasuke off the bed shifted Narutos posture and the raven made his way to the bathroom. Still confused after he heard the bathroom door closed and locked, he asked Mikoto what happened.

"Oh, just embarrassing Sasuke."

Sasuke hated when his mom was so up front about anything. He heard her talk about her female issues and the monthly visit she got, It was too much for a guy like himself to hear, it made him glad he didn't have a girlfriend, nor did he want one. Females were just too much to handle. His mom was proving his point all the more.

Unclothing himself, he turned on the shower letting the warm water smack against his porcelain skin. The tension of the days before had still made its mark on his muscles, not to mention his mental state as well. Its ben a long week, living in a hotel and going to school, acting like everything is alright when really they were not. He had to worry about his father and protect his mother and himself. He was still on the look out for Fugaku and didn't let Naruto out of his site. He knew his father would use Naruto to get at him, that is, if he was desperate enough. Wether his father was desperate and what for, he didn't know, but he would rather be safe than sorry.

"That idiot" Sasuke sneered.

Sleeping with Naruto in the same bed had been really hard on him. He did enjoy the extra warmth the blonde created under the sheets but he couldn't do anything. With is mom less than twenty feet away in another bed, he had to keep himself in check. They did occasionally touch and flirt while his mom was sleeping but he was careful to not let his mother be stuck in the middle of something intimate and Naruto didn't seem to understand the issue at hand. Many times he had to walk out of the room or lock himself in the bathroom just to get away from the dobe. Even while he was sleeping, he could feel their bodies touch and Sasuke was very sensitive in the lower back and ass.

He grumbled as he poured some shampoo in his hair and rubbed it in, accidentally getting some in his eye. Running and rinsing the shampoo from his eyes, he began to think about how bad of a day it was going to be. School started in about an hour and he was still tired and desperately needed food.

Finishing up his shower, he used the towel to cover himself and opened the door to get a new pair of clothing. He paused, remembering he was going to do his laundry at the laundry mat last night but Naruto insisted that they go and hang out at the shopping center. Sasuke said no but caved in when his mom ordered Sasuke to leave and get out of the room and to actually do something fun for once instead of worrying about her. She spent some of her days at Itachis- baby sitting and talking to Itachi about living arrangements. Itachi had offered to let them stay at his place to which Mikoto and Sasuke disagreed to but eventually the thought of living in an apartment would be better than a hotel. But none of this had to do with the situation he was in right now.

"Oh, Sasuke. Forgot some clean clothes?" Naruto asked, already dressed himself and eating a bagel. It suddenly became cold in the room as Sasuke glared at Naruto and noticed that Naruto was wearing his last shirt. His last clean shirt. Naruto looked down at the shirt and laughed. "My clothes were all dirty and found this clean shirt of yours. I didn't think you would mind so I..."

"Dammit, Naruto! That was my last clean shirt!"

"Well, why aren't the others clean? I mean, you have a lot of shirts, one of them has to be clean, right?"

"And what about you, Dobe?"

"Naww. All mine were dirty. I was going to clean them last night but thought hanging out with you was more important."

The raven was slowly going to kill the blonde. A slow and painful death if he didn't get a clean shirt and a decent night's rest. And his mom...was laughing at the situation.

"God! What is wrong with you two?" He shouted. "I can't get a good nights rest because you keep talking and hogging the blankets and even kick me! And mom! All you do is embarrass me and tell me what to do! I am eighteen! I don't need a baby sitter and I don't want to baby sit! I just want clean clothes and a night where I don't wake up every hour!"

When Sasuke noted that Naruto was taking off his last clean shirt, Sasuke sneered.

"No, just keep it. I don't care."

"But you just said..."

"I don't want it back!"

Sasuke turned towards his duffel bag, grabbing some clothes to smell it before either tossing it aside or making a small pile in his hands. When he had his pants, shirt and undergarments picked out, he started towards the bathroom.

When Sasuke disappeared back into the bathroom, Naruto took a glance at Mikoto to see that she was indeed shocked as much as he was. Sasuke never snapped. Mikoto sighed.

"I guess he's getting more stressed out than ever." She merely stated. "He thinks we are wanting him to baby sit us when really he doesn't want to let us out of his site. He's a strange one." She giggled. "He's always been like this." She turned back towards the food and started to eat some fresh blueberries she bought.

Naruto looked down at the shirt he was wearing. He knew this was one of Sasukes favorite shirts, but he didn't know that it was Sasukes last clean shirt. He felt guilty for many reasons and the shirt was just one. Maybe he as just crowding Sasuke. Maybe Sasuke needed his space away from him. His bagel long forgotten, the blonde stood up from the small table and gathered up his school bag and homework. He wanted, no, needed time to think and being in such a small room was getting hard to breathe and think straight.

"Naruto?" Mikoto asked before Naruto closed the door behind him.

* * *

It was what he needed before he went to school- a nice long walk to refresh his mind. It was a sunny and warm morning and the town was bustling with people heading to work and school. Many greeted him to which he just nodded his head in return. Talking seemed pointless at the moment, seeing as it got him in trouble anyways. He watched people interact with one another: kids who were best friends were holding hands, lover walking and chatting and giving an embrace before they went their separate ways, and even shop owners were idling and chatting with their guests with such a happy tone. So many people were smiling, laughing and chatting.

Yet, Naruto was not.

When it came to people being mean and rude to him, he usually didn't let it go to him. It happened often when he was young and was use to being treated like such but to be treated like that by someone he held so close to his heart, it was very much breaking him.

He stopped at a bridge and took a look down the stream. A large river went through the town and ended at a lake just three miles down. He could see in the distance ships and boats taking off for a full day's work. The sun illuminated the Earth into a warm and yellow glow and the pink and purple clouds off in the distance looked just as beautiful. Times like these he was reminded how glad and blessed he was to be alive. Many people died at a younger age than he was who never wanted to die. He always reminded himself of this fact when he would feel down or depressed.

Leaning along the railing, he looked down at his reflection. It was like he was in an alternate universe. His reflection didn't seem normal. His usually happy and glowing face was voided of all things that he usually felt. Shaking his head, he knew it was all just because of Sasuke.

And there he went again about Sasuke.

"Gah! Why do I let him get to me so much?" He asked no one in particular.

He knew why.

He loved him.

It was hard for him to admit it but he did. He truly loved Sasuke more than he ever loved anybody else. Even Sakura. His heart started to flutter and his blood started to race. He was going to make it up to Sasuke for making him upset and he knew exactly what to do. Being engrossed in his thoughts, Naruto didn't notice the black car with tinted windows pull up next to him while the passenger side window rolled down.

"Naruto. Get in." He heard a strong and harsh voice. He knew that voice. It was Sasukes father. "Don't make he say it again." This time Naruto heard a click and looked towards the man.

"What the fuck?" Naruto thought out loud as he saw a gun pointed at him. "He's fucking crazy!"

"One...two..."

"God, fine. Just, don't shoot." Naruto signed, putting his hands in the air without thinking. "Where are you taking me?"

Fugaku gave a deep laugh which made Naruto worry for his life. He had always seen this sort of thing in the movies but never in his life did he imagine this would happen to him.

"Just get in."

* * *

Sasuke arrived at school, not really paying attention to anyone nor responded when people greeted him, including Sakura.

Sakura was rather worried. She hadn't seen Naruto that morning and Sasuke was in one of his moods again which made it hard to approach him but she was worried. For the rest of the day, she made it a priority to watch over Sasuke. Even with everything that had happened, she felt she needed to redeem herself, to show that she no longer thought erie of Naruto but approved because even if she didn't want to admit it, they were both happy together.

When lunch time arrived, Sakura noted that Sasuke was sitting alone at a table and still no Naruto in sight. Things felt too weird to just be a sick day for the blonde. Not taking any chances, Sakura excused herself from her table of friends and started towards the office.

"Mom?" Sakura had called her mother, telling the secretary that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home. She was granted a call to her mother at work.

"Yes, hun?" Sakura faked coughed.

"I don't feel well."

"You don't sound well, dear."

Success. Sakura inwardly smiled as her fake sore throat and cough swayed her mother into letting her leave the school.

"Ok. You have the keys to the house right?"

The pinkette rolled her eyes.

"Yes, mom. I do have the keys to the house."

"Alright. I will see you when I get out of work."

"Alright, mom. Here's the secretary."

After the brief chat between her mother and the secretary, Sakura stopped by her locker before leaving the school. As soon as she reached the outdoors, she felt a rejuvenating energy flow through her as she took off in a sprint in the one direction she felt she had no other place to go.

The hotel room.

Mikoto was finished doing laundry at the laundry mat and was sitting on her hotel bed folding the last bit of the boys clothes. That morning had been interesting and she had felt sorry for Naruto for her sons outburst but they were adults legally. They would figure the issue out on their own.

A sudden pain rushed through her body as she leaned forward in pain.

She recognized this pain.

It was a side effect from her cancer. Her sight started to get blurry and a headache started to rush through her temples. She didn't know if she was going to have another seizure. Slowly getting up, she started to walk towards the door. Thoughts were racing through her mind. Should she go to the hospital? If she did, her husband would find her and Sasuke. She wasn't ready for the confrontation but if she didn't do anything she could possibly die and this was not the time nor place. Reaching for the doorknob she heard footsteps running her way, slowing down before they reached the door. She paused for a moment only to hear a light knock on the hotel door. She hoped to god it was Sasuke. Slowly opening the door, Mikoto was greeted by the pink haired girl, Sakura.

Sakura could tell when she took one glance at Mikoto that something was wrong.

"Mrs. Uchiha? Are you ok?"

She shook her head lightly.

"Where is Sasuke?" She asked, looking behind her, hoping that maybe he was there.

"He's at school."

The raven haired women looked back at Sakura with a slight disappointment shown on her features. Sakura didn't know what to do anymore. Mikoto looked like she needed help but she had a bad feeling about Naruto and Sasuke.

"Where's Naruto?" She asked, watching Mikotos expression fall, if that was even possible from her already devastated face.

"Why? Isn't he at school?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. Sasuke came to school in a bad mood and I haven't seen Naruto all day."

"Wha..."

"I came here to ask you if you knew where Naruto may have gone."

"No. I have no idea. Sasuke and Naruto got into a small argument this morning and Naruto left. I assumed they both went to school."

Sakura's heart started to pace faster. She didn't know what to do or where to go. Turning around, Sakura started off down the hall.

"Thank you, Mrs. Uchi..." but before Sakura could finish her sentence, she heard a thump from behind her and with more fear, saw Sasukes mother laying on the ground, unconscious.

"H-help!" Sakura ran back towards the older Uchiha and began to flip her on her back. She took basic firs aid and knew what to do with an unconscious women and immediately checked to make sure she was breathing. Leaning down she felt for any breathing.

A small breath hit her cheek. She was breathing at least. Reaching inside her pocket, Sakura remembered that she had forgotten her cell phone at home this morning as she was rushing out the door to not be late for the day. She inwardly cursed her life.

"Someone! Call an ambulance!"

* * *

"Sasuke Uchiha. You are needed in the office. Bring all your books and papers with you." The announcer said over the intercom.

Sasuke was bored in class and inwardly praised the heavens above for his break from the lame lecture he was listening to. He didn't even need it since he already read the stuff in his book the night before. Everything was just review and he felt like it was a complete waste of time just sitting in the classroom. Grabbing all his supplies, he left the classroom, only nodding when his teacher told him what assignments were due the next day.

To say Sasuke was surprised when he arrived at the office was an understatement. His eyes widened as he saw his father and brother sitting in the office, apparently waiting for him. Itachi had a drim look on his face as he didn't seem to notice what was going on the world around him. His father was stoic as ever, not even batting an eyelash when he saw Sasuke walk into the office.

"What's going on?" Sasuke merely asked without a hint of feeling in his question. He didn't want to sound like anything was affecting him or that he was worried, but he was. Something major must have happened to have Itachi and his father in the same area together without a fight breaking out.

Itachi was the first to look up at him. Immediately Sasuke felt a ping in his heart. Something was wrong. Itachi opened his mouth to say something but closed it only to ponder some more. Sasuke looked at his father and saw that he still hadn't looked up nor shown any sign of life.

'Che. Whatever.' Sasuke shrugged.

"Mother's in the hospital. She had another seizure."

"W-what?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke straight in the eyes. His focus was hardening as he saw that Itachi was telling the truth. His mother was in the hospital. Who knew what her current condition was? Sasuke knew one thing and that was that he didn't know what her condition is and he had to go find out.

Bolting out the door, Sasuke left the school without saying another word. He was determined to go see his mother, even if the walk to the hospital would take him an hour, he was going right then and there and no one was going to stop him.

"Sasuke." He heard his father yell out. "I'll drive you."

Sasuke was hesitant for a while but he also didn't want to walk all the way to the hospital. His mother was sick and he didn't want to loose her. Every minute was valuable when it came to her health.

The inner turmoil lasted all but a couple more minutes before he said 'fuck it' and got into his fathers car. He didn't want his last moment with his mother to be like it had ended this morning. If his mother passed away, the last words and actions he said and did to her would haunt him for the rest of his life, never forgiving himself for being such a prick to her...and to Naruto.

"Sasuke. We need to talk." Fugaku said, turning left at an intersection, the opposite direction from the hospital.

The raven didn't like the sound of his fathers voice and was panicking slightly when he noted that his father took a left instead of a right at the intersection. Slowly, Sasuke reached into his pocket and felt the cool metal knife he had started to carry with him. His father took a lot from him, he wasn't going to take anymore.

* * *

**Authors Note:** *Small rant*  
Hey guys. Sorry for being so late with another chapter. I am really hoping I wont take this long again and have this story finished by 2012. That is my goal at the moment. To be honest, I lost my fancy feast for NaruSasu and am now a hard core NaruSaku fan but I still have a place in my heart for NaruSasu. I lost the energy for the couple because of a bad experience with another artist and a yaoi website where the mods are very bias and plays favorites with artists. I had my art taken down a couple of times because the artist I collaborated with wasn't on the website but I did get permission and gave credit and a link to their website. But then I found an artist on there who copied another artists work and didn't even gave credit and they made it a lineart for other artists to use. You don't copy someones art and then not give credit and make it so other people can use the lineart. It was my favorite artists too, and I take it personal when you don't even give her credit for the art. I warned the artist, letting them know and they told a friend who then turned and attacked me and got all her followers to harass me. Then the website let her keep the art up. It made no sense. That's the long story shortened. :S I left the website long ago and don't plan on going back. I kept all my friend out of the situation and don't give names of artists to protect them from being harassed by my followers. I lost all respect for the friend of the artist I reported, which is sad since they are a popular Naruto artist on DA who didn't even talk or treat me like an adult and get my side of the story. She just placed my name up and sent all her watchers to harass. And she's older than me. I figured she would have at least confronted me first and had a mature chat about the situation. I had nothing against the artist and I liked seeing her original art and seeing her grow but now it's just...awkward. :T -End of rant- Other than that, I been crazy busy with my jobs.

**Responses:**

**aj527:** Hehe. I wouldn't say your famous. ;) I recognize you as a reviewer and wanted to thank you.

**MoonXShowerX101:** Sorry this update took so long. I hope you can forgive me.

**BookHippie:** I am very honored that you were excited about the new chapter. I hope this one made you just as happy.

**Samsal:** To be honest, I don't want to give up on the story but it's hard to find ideas and motivitaion, ya know?

**Savagebeauty1981:** Holy crap! 3 days? You must have really ejoyed this story to have read it 3 days straight. xD

**makura moderski:** Why hello there baby. *Wiggles eyebrows* Thank you again for the reviewwwww.

**BloodColoredRose:** I am so glad you enjoyed the read!

**Natbat2314:** Thank you for congratulating me on graduating.

**Yukino89:** YOU GOT MOAR! ;)

**CryssyMiller:** I hope to finish the story. :C No motivation.

And thank you to everyone else who left a review.


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